Heavy Sighting

Short was the peace ere Rvana sent out another leader of the rkshasas, the deadly Thunder-tooth ; him Angada met as he drove the monkey host before him, piercing five and nine with every shaft, and engaged in deadly duel, till at last he severed the demon’s neck and laid him low. Then Rvana sent out Akampana (“ Unconquerable ”), and he was slain by Hanuman, with all his host. Then Rvana was somewhat shaken and foreboded ill, but he sent for Prahasta (“ Long-hand ”), his foremost general; and he gathered another host, and sallied forth upon a splendid car by the eastern gate, accompanied by his counsellors, Man-slayer and Noisy-throat and Tall. That encounter was the death of many hundred rkshasas and monkeys, and the occasion of many a deed of heroism. Prahasta from his shining car sped thousands of monkey-slaying shafts, and a very river of blood flowed between the opposing hosts. Then Nil, Agni’s son, brandishing an uptorn tree, rushed on Prahasta ; but he wounded the monkey with showers of arrows. At last his bow was shattered in the conflict, and the twain fought hand to hand, with tooth and nail. Then Prahasta struck Nil a deadly blow with his mace, and Nil flung a tall tree at Prahasta’s breast ; but he lightly avoided that and rushed om Nil. Then Nil flung a mighty crag at the rkshasa, shattering his head, so that he fell slain. The rkshasa host drew back; like water rushing through a broken dyke, they melted away and entered Lank, stricken with grief and fear.

Rvana was inflamed with wrath to learn of Prahasta’s death, and his heart sank, but he boasted that he would himself destroy Rma and Lakshman with a thousand shafts, and mounted his own shining car and led a rkshasa host against the monkeys; he seemed like the Destroyer himself, accompanied by ghosts and flesh-devouring monsters with burning eyes. Big-belly and Goblin and Man-destroyer and Three-heads, fighters with mountain-peaks and flaming maces, came with Rvana. But he, when they were face to face with the besiegers, dismissed the host to take their ease, and himself advanced to fight alone. Then first Sugriva hurled a mountain-top at him, but Rvana severed it with his golden shafts, so that it fell vainly to the earth, and he sped a deadly flaming shaft at the monkey-king that bore him to the ground groaning with pain. Then other monkey-chiefs together rushed at Rvana, but these in like fashion he destroyed, so that they cried to Rma for help. Lakshman prayed for that battle, and Rma granted him, and he took the field; but already Hanuman was pressing Rvana hard, so that he cried : “ Well done, monkey; thou art a foe in whom I may rejoice.” Therewith he struck the Wind-god’s son a heavy blow so that he shuddered and fell back, and Rvana turned to fight with Nil. But the Fire-god’s son, flaming with anger, sprang on to Rvana’s car and darted like fire from point to point; and Rvana’s heart sank, but he took a deadly shaft and aimed at Nil, and laid him low, at the very point of death. But then Lakshman took up the battle, and showers of arrows were loosed by either hero, so that both were sorely wounded ; and a flaming dart struck Rma’s brother down. Then Rvana seized him ; but he that could raise Himlaya could not lift Lakshman from the ground, for he remembered that he was a very part of Vishnu himself, and he stayed immovable. Then Hanuman returned and struck the rkshasa king a staggering blow so that he fell back, senseless and bleeding, on the platform of his car ; and Hanuman lifted Lakshman easily and bore him away to Rma. Nor was it long before both Rvana and Lakshman came to their senses; and Rma, mounted upon Hanuman’s back, engaged in a dreadful battle with the king of Lank. Rma destroyed his car, and wounded Rvana with bolts, and cut his crown atwain with a fiery disc, and struck him with an arrow, so that he grew weak and faint; then, sparing his life, he sent him back to Lank, saying: “ Thou hast accomplished deeds of heroism, and I see thee faint; do thou retire to Lank now, for thou shalt feel my power in another battle.” So the generous Rma spared his foe, and all the gods and quarters and the seas and creatures of earth rejoiced to see the rkshasa king cast down.

Pot-ear Awakened

Now Rvana bethought him of his brother Kumbhakarna (“ Pot-ear ”). He would ever sleep, now six, now eight, now ten months at a time, and would wake only to gorge, and then sleep again. But he was the hardest fighter and the very best of the rkshasas in battle; and now he had already slept nine months, when Rvana sent a host to waken him. They found him sleeping in his cave; he lay like a mountain, drunk with sleep, and vast as Hell, his rank breath sweeping all before him, smelling of blood and fat. The rkshasas made ready for him heaps of deer and buffaloes, steaming rice and jars of blood, mountains of food piled up as high as Meru ; then set about to wake him. They winded conchs and shouted and beat on drums, so that the very birds in the sky fell dead of fear; but Pot-ear slept the harder, and the rkshasas could hardly stand against the tornado of his breath. Then they girded their cloths the tighter, and ten thousand of them yelled together, and struck heavy blows at him with logs of wood, and beat a thousand kettledrums at once. Then they waxed angrier, and set themselves to work in earnest; some bit his ears, some poured a thousand pots of water in them, some wounded him with spears and maces, and some drove a thousand elephants against him. Therewith at last he woke, and yawned, and yawned again, so that a very storm was raging; and the pangs of hunger assailed him, and he looked about for food. Then he beheld the feast, and fell to heartily, and ate and drank; and when the rakshasas thought him filled, they stood around him and bowed, and informed him of all that had befallen, and prayed his help. Then he, already half asleep again, roused himself, and boasted that he would regale the rkshasas with an abundant feast of monkey flesh and blood; “ and myself shall swill the blood of Rma and Lakshman,” said he. So Pot-ear bathed, and, going to his brother, bade him take heart. He drank two thousand flasks of wine, and marched out like a moving mountain, clad in golden mail, to attack the monkeys. The monkeys fled in terror, but Pot-ear caught them and rushed about devouring them by handfuls, so that the blood and fat dripped from his mouth. Then Rma, with Hanuman and Angada and other brave monkeys, fell on him with trees and mountaintops, swarming round him like clouds about a mountain; and Pot-ear, half asleep as yet, began to rouse himself and fight in earnest. Hanuman, from the sky, cast down the mountain-peaks on him; but he swallowed twenty and thirty monkeys at a mouthful, and slew them by hundreds at every stroke, and wounded Hanuman, and raged from side to side.

Pot-ear Slain

Then Pot-ear sped a second deadly shaft at Hanuman; but he caught it and broke it with his hands, and all the monkeys shouted, so that the rkshasa was daunted and turned away. But therewith Pot-ear flung a mountain-top and struck Sugriva down, and he lifted him and carried him away. The monkeys were scattered and their king a prisoner. But Sugriva roused himself and turned on Pot-ear and wounded him and got away; and the battle was joined again, and Lakshman fought against the rkshasa. Then Rma took up the battle, and wounded his foe with many shafts, and shot away an arm, destroying a hundred monkeys in its fall. Then with a second shaft he cut away the other arm, and with two keen-edged discs he cut away the demon’s legs, and with a shaft of Indra he struck away his head; and he fell like a great hill and crashed down into the sea, and the gods and heroes rejoiced.

Rkshasa Successes

Then Rvana grew ever more heavy of heart ; but Prince Indrajit came to his father and vowed to slay Rma and Lakshman that day, and he sallied forth. But first he offered libations unto Fire, and sacrificed a goat; and the bright, smokeless Fire-god, with his flickering tongue, rose up to take the offering, and he bestowed a Brahm weapon on Indrajit, and blessed his bow and car with charms. Armed with that weapon, Indrajit slew countless hosts of monkeys, and laid low Sugriva and Angada and Jambavn and Nil and other chiefs, but himself remained invisible. Then Rma, seeing him thus weaponed and unassailable, counselled a semblance of defeat. And Indrajit returned victorious to Lank.

Hanuman fetches Healing Herbs

Then Vibhishana and Hanuman ranged the field, beholding thousands of slain and wounded, a horrid sight and grim; and they came nigh to the king of bears, Jambavn, and asked if he yet lived. He answered faintly, recognizing Vibhishana’s voice, and asked if Hanuman was alive ; then Hanuman bowed to Jambavn and held his feet. Jambavn rejoiced, and despite his wounds he spoke to the Wind-god’s son : “ Do thou labour for this host of bears and monkeys, for only thou canst save them. Thou shalt bound over the sea, and reach Himlaya, king of mountains, and bring thence the four life-giving herbs that grow on him, and return forthwith with healing for the monkey host.”

Then Hanuman roared and sprang; and he passed across the sea and over hills and woods and rivers and cities till he came to Himlaya and beheld its hermitages. He ranged the mountain, but the herbs were hidden from him ; and angered and impatient, Hanuman rooted up the whole mountain and sprang with it into the air and returned to Lank, welcomed by all the host. And the slain and wounded monkeys rose up whole, as if from restful sleep, healed by the savour of the four medicinal herbs. But all the slain rkshasas had been cast into the sea. Then Hanuman took the mountain-peak again to Himlaya and returned to Lank.

Now Sugriva, perceiving that few rkshasas lived to guard the city, stormed the gates, and a host of monkeys bearing flaming brands entered and burnt and ravaged her. The second night had now come on, and the burning city glowed in the darkness, like a mountain blazing with forest fires. But Rvana sent out a host against the monkeys time and again. First Kumbha and Nikumbha led the rkshasas, and were slain in deadly battle ; then Mahrksha, son of Khara, in turn was slain, and Indrajit went out again. He fought invisible as ever, and sorely wounded Rma and Lakshman. Then Indrajit retired, and came forth again, riding on a car with an illusory magic figure of St; and he rode up and down the field, holding her by the hair and striking her, and he cut her down in the sight of all the monkey host. Hanuman, believing in the false show, stayed the battle and brought the news to Rma; and Rma fell down, like a tree cut off at the root. But while they grieved, Indrajit went to the altar at Nikhumbila to make sacrifices to the god of Fire.

Rvana’s Son is Killed

Meanwhile Vibhishana came to Rma and found him overwhelmed with grief, and Lakshman told him that St had been slain by Indrajit. But Vibhishana guessed this to have been a vain show, less possible than for the ocean to be dried up. “ It is a device,” he said, “ to delay the monkey army till Indrajit shall have completed a sacrifice to Fire and have won as a boon to be invincible in battle. Therefore grieve not, but hasten to prevent his offerings, lest the very gods be in danger if he complete them.” Then Rma rose, and with Lakshman and Vibhishana pursued the son of Rvana ; and they overtook him ere he reached Nikhumbila, mounted on a fiery car. Then befell the worst and fiercest of conflicts that had yet been: Lakshman bore the brunt of that battle, and it is said that the ancestors and gods, the birds and snakes, protected Lakshman from the deadly shafts. And this was at last the manner of Indrajit’s death: Lakshman took an Indra shaft, and making an act of truth, he prayed its indwelling deity: “ If Rma be righteous and truthful, the first of all men in heroism, then slay this son of Rvana”; and drawing the straight-speeding arrow to his ear, he loosed it, and it severed the rkshasa’s neck, that head and trunk fell to the ground, and all the rkshasas, seeing their leader slain, cast down their arms and fled. And all the monkeys rejoiced, for no rkshasa hero remained alive save Rvana himself. Then Rma welcomed the wounded Lakshman with great affection, and ordered Sushena to administer medicines to him and to the wounded monkeys; and the monkey-chief applied a potent drug to Lakshman’s nose, and, smelling it, the outward-going of his life was stayed, and he was healed.

Bitterly Rvana grieved for his son. “ The triple worlds, and this earth with all its forests, seem to me vacant,” he cried, “since thou, my hero, hast gone to the abode of Yama, who shouldst have performed my funeral rites, not I thine” ; and he burned with rage and sorrow. Then he determined to slay St in revenge, but his good counsellor Suprshwa held him back, saying: “ Thou mayst not slay a woman; but when Rma is slain thou shalt possess her.” All Lank was resounding with the lamentations of the rkshass for the rkshasas slain in battle, and Rvana sat in fury, devising means to conquer Rma : he gnashed his teeth and bit his lips and laughed, and went with Big-belly and Squint-eye and Great-flank to the field of battle, followed by the last of the demon army, and boasting: “ I shall make an end of Rma and Lakshman to-day.”

Rvana’s Fury

Nor could the monkeys stand before him, but were destroyed like flies in fire; but Sugriva engaged in single fight with Squint-eye and made an end of him; and therewith both armies joined again, and there was deadly slaughter on either hand, and either army shrank like a pond in summer. Next Big-belly was slain by Sugriva, and Angada was the death of Great-flank, so that the monkeys roared with triumph. But now Rvana came on, bearing a Brahm weapon, and scattering the monkeys right and left.

He stayed not ere he came to the sons of Dasharatha : he took his way where Rma stood aside, with great eyes like the petals of a lotus, long of arm, unconquerable, holding a bow so huge it seemed to be painted on the sky. Rma set arrows to the bow and drew the string, so that a thousand rkshasas died of terror when they heard it twang; and there began a deadly battle between the heroes. Those arrows pierced the king of Lank like five-hooded serpents, and fell hissing to the ground; but Rvana lifted up a dreadful asura weapon, and let fly at Rma a shower of arrows having lion- and tiger-faces, and some with gaping mouths like wolves. Rma answered these with shafts faced like the sun and stars, like meteors or lightning flashes, destroying the shafts of Rvana. Then Rvana fought with other celestial weapons, and he lifted a Rudra shaft, irresistible and flaming, hung with eight noisy bells, and hurled it at Vibhishana; but Lakshman came before it, saving Vibhishana from death. Rma, seeing that weapon falling upon Lakshman, prayed it: “Peace be to Lakshman ! Be thou frustrated, and let thy energy depart” ; but the blazing dart struck Lakshman’s breast and laid him low, nor could any monkey draw the shaft out of him. Rma stooped and drew it forth and broke it in twain, and then, albeit grieved out of measure for Lakshman and angered by his grief, Rma called to Hanuman and Sugriva, saying: “ Now is the time appointed come at last. To-day I shall accomplish a deed of which all men and gods and every world shall tell as long as the earth supports a living creature. To-day my sorrow shall have an end, and all that for which I have laboured shall come to pass.”

Then Rma set his mind upon the battle, but Hanuman went again to Himlaya and brought the mount of healing herbs for Lakshman, and Sushena took the life-giving plant and made Lakshman to smell its savour, so that he rose up whole and well; and Lakshman embraced his brother, and urged him to achieve his promise that very day. Sakra sent down from Heaven his car and his charioteer, named Mtal, to aid the son of Dasharatha in his fight, and Rma went about and greeted it, and, mounting upon it, seemed to light the whole world with his splendour. But Rvana loosed at him a rkshasa weapon, and its golden shafts, with fiery faces vomiting flames, poured over Rma from every side and changed to venomous serpents. But Rma took a Garuda weapon and loosed a flight of golden arrows, changing at will to birds, and devouring all the serpent arrows of the rakshasa. Then the presiding deities of all the weapons came to stand by Rma, and what with this auspicious omen and other happy signs, Rma began to harass Rvana sorely, and wounded him, so that his charioteer, beholding him as if at the point of death, turned away from the field of battle. Then the revered Agastya, come thither with the gods to witness the defeat of Rvana, drew near to Rma and taught him : “ Rma, Rma, great-armed hero, my child, hearken to the eternal secret, the Heart of the Sun, whereby thou mayst overcome every foe. Do thou worship Sun, lord of the world, in whom dwells the spirit of all the gods. Hail ! Hail! O thousand-rayed, hail to ditya ! Thou wakener of the lotus! Thou source of life and death, destroyer of all darkness, light of the soul, who wakest when all sleep, and dwellest in every heart ! Thou art the gods and every sacrifice and the fruits thereof. Do thou worship with this hymn the lord of the universe, and thou shalt conquer Rvana to-day.”

Rvana Slain

Then Rma hymned the Sun, and purified himself with water-sippings, and was glad; and he turned to deal with Rvana, for the rkshasa had come to himself again and was eager for the battle. Each like a flaming lion fought the other; head after head of the Ten-necked One did Rma cut away with his deadly arrows, but new heads ever rose in place of those cut off, and Rvana’s death seemed nowise nearer than before—the arrows that had slain Mrcha and Khara and Vli could not take the king of Lanka’s life away. Then Rma took up the Brahm weapon given to him by Agastya : the Wind lay in its wings, the Sun and Fire in its head, in its mass the weight of Meru and Mandara. Blessing that shaft with Vedic mantras, Rama set it on his bow and loosed it, and it sped to its appointed place and cleft the breast of Rvana, and, bathed in blood, returned and entered Rma’s quiver humbly.

Thus was the lord of the rkshasas slain, and the gods rained flowers on Rma’s car and chanted hymns of praise, for their desired end was now accomplished—that end for which alone Vishnu had taken human form. The heavens were at peace, the air grew clear and bright, and the sun shone cloudless on the field of battle.

Rvana Mourned

But Vibhishana lamented for his brother sadly, and Rma comforted him, saying: “A hero slain in battle should not be mourned. Success in battle is not for ever: why shouldst thou grieve that one who put to flight Indra himself should fall at last ? Do thou rather perform his funeral rites. Take comfort, too, at this : with death our enmity is ended, and Rvana is as dear to me as thee.” Then there issued out of Lank a host of weeping rkshass, seeking their lord and wailing bitterly; and Mandodar made this lament: “O thou great-armed, younger brother of Vaisrvana, who could stand before thee ? Gods and rishis thou hast daunted ; not to be borne is it that a man, fighting on foot, hath slain thee now ! But thy death has come to pass because of St, and I am a widow. Thou didst not heed my words, nor didst thou think how many fairer damsels thou hadst than her. Alas! how fair thou wert and how kind thy smile: now thou art bathed in blood and pierced with shafts ! Thou wert wont to sleep on a couch of gold ; but now thou liest in the dust. Why dost thou fare away and leave me alone? Why dost thou not welcome me?” But the other wives of Rvana consoled her and lifted her up, saying: “ Life is uncertain for all, and all things change.” Meanwhile Vibhishana made ready the funeral pyre, and Rvana was taken to the burning-ground and burnt with every rite and honour due to heroes. Rvana’s wives returned to Lanka, and the gods departed to their own place. Then Lakshman, taking water brought from the ocean by Sugriva in a golden jar, anointed Vibhishana as lord of the city of Lanka and king of the rkshasas, and thereat the monkeys and rkshasas both rejoiced.

St brought to Rma

But now Rma called Hanuman to him, and sent him to search for St and inform her of all that had befallen; and he found her still by the Asoka tree, guarded by rkshass. Hanuman stood before her humbly and told his tale, and she gave him the message: “ I desire to behold my lord.” Then the radiant monkey came to Rma and gave him St’s message. Rma wept thereat and was plunged in thought, and with a heavy sigh he said to Vibhishana : “Do thou bring St hither quickly, bathed and fitly adorned with sandal-paste and jewels.” He repaired to her and gave her Rma’s command; she would have gone to him unbathed. “ But thou shouldst do according to thy lord’s word,” he said. “ So be it,” she replied, and when she had made her ready, worthy bearers brought her on a palanquin to Rma. Rma, beholding her who had long been the prisoner of Rvana, and overcome with sorrow, was stricken at once with fury, joy, and grief. “ O lord of rkshasas, O gentle king,” said he to Vibhishana, “ do thou bring St near to me.” Then Vibhishana drove away the crowd of monkeys, bears, and rkshasas, and the attendants with canes and drums roughly hustled the assembled host. But Rma bade them desist, and ordered that St should leave her palanquin and come to him on foot, saying to Vibhishana : “Thou shouldst rather comfort than harass these our own folk. No sin is there when women are seen abroad in time of war or danger, at an own-choice,9 or at marriage. St is in danger now, and there can be no wrong in seeing her, the more so as I am here to guard her.” Vibhishana, cast down at that rebuke, brought St humbly up to Rma; and she stood shamefast, hiding as it were her true self in her outward shape, beholding Rma’s face with wonder, joy, and love. At the sight of him her sorrow vanished, and she shone radiant like the moon.

But Rma, seeing her stand humbly near him, could no more hold back his speech, and cried: “ O gentle one, I have subdued thy foe and wiped away the stain upon my honour. The work of Hanuman, in crossing the deep and harrying Lank; of Sugriva, with his army and his counsel; and of Vibhishana, hath borne its fruit, and I have fulfilled my promise, by my own might accomplishing the duty of a man.” Then St looked on Rma sadly, like a deer, with tear-filled eyes; and Rma, seeing her so near, but bethinking him of honour in the sight of men, was torn in twain. “ I have wiped away the insult to our family and to myself,” said he, “ but thou art stained by dwelling with another than myself. What man of high degree receives back a wife who hath lived long in another’s house? Rvan has held thee on his lap and gazed on thee with lustful eyes. I have avenged his evil deed, but I am unattached to thee. O gentle one, I am forced by a sense of honour to renounce thee, for how should Rvana have overlooked thee, so fair and dainty as thou art, when he had thee at his will ? Do thou choose what home thou wilt, whether with Lakshman, or Bharata, or Sugriva, or with Vibhishana.”

Then St, hearing that cruel speech of Rma, little like his wonted words, trembled like a swaying vine, and wept with heavy tears, and she was ashamed before that great assembly. But she wiped the tears from her face, and answered him : “ Ah, why dost thou speak thus roughly and unkindly? Seeing the ways of other women, thou wilt trust in none! But, O thou long-armed hero, I am my own sufficient witness to my purity. It was not with my consent that another touched my person. My body was not in my power; but my heart, that lies under my own sway, is set on thee alone. O thou my lord and source of honour, our affection increased by living continually together for a long time; and now, if thou dost not know my faithfulness, I am undone for ever. O king, why didst thou not renounce me when Hanuman came ? Then would I have given up my life, and thou needst not have undertaken all thy labour, nor laid a burden on thy friends. Thou art angered; like a common man thou seest naught in me but womanhood. I am called the daughter of Janaka, but, in sooth, I was born of Earth; thou knowest not my true self.” Then St turned to Lakshman, and said with faltering speech: “O son of Sumitra, build me a funeral pyre; therein is my only refuge. Branded with an undeserved stigma, I will not live.” Lakshman, wrought with grief and anger, turned to Rma, and in obedience to his gesture he prepared the funeral pyre.

St’s Ordeal

Then St, circumambulating Rma, standing with downcast eyes, approached the fire ; with folded hands she stood and prayed: “ Inasmuch as my heart has never turned from Rma, do thou, O Fire, all men’s witness, guard me; since Rma casts me away as stained, who in sooth am stainless, do thou be my refuge.” Then St went about the pyre and entered the burning flames, so that all, both young and old, assembled there were overcome with grief, and the noise of uttermost wailing and lamentation arose on every hand.

Rma stayed immovable and rapt; but the gods came down to Lanka in their shining cars and, folding their hands, prayed Rma to relent. “ Thou that dost protect the worlds, why dost thou renounce the daughter of Janaka, leaving her to choose the death by fire? How can it be thou knowest not what thyself art? Thou wast in the beginning, and shalt be at the end: thou art first of all the gods, thyself the grandsire and creator. Why dost thou treat St after the fashion of a mere man?” said they. To whom Rma replied: “ I know myself only as a man, Rma, the son of Dasharatha; now let the grandsire tell me who I am and whence I came.”

Then Brahm answered: “ Hearken, thou whose virtue lies in truth! O Lord, thou art Nryana, bearing disc and mace; thou art the one-tusked boar; thou goest beyond the past, the present, and the future; thine is the bow of Time; thou art creation and destruction; thou art the slayer of all enemies, thou the forgiveness and control of passions; thou art the refuge of all gods and hermits; thou art manifest in every creature, in cows and Brahmans, in every quarter, in sky and river and mountain-peak ; a thousand limbs, a thousand eyes, a thousand heads are thine; thy heart am I, thy tongue Sarasvat; the closing of thy eye is night, its opening day: St is Lakshmi and thou Vishnu and Krishna. And, O Rma, now Rvana is slain, do thou ascend to Heaven, thy work accomplished. Naught shall they lack whose hearts are set on thee, nor fail who chant thy lay.”

Then Fire, hearing those happy words, rose up with St on his lap, radiant as the morning sun, with golden jewels and black curling hair, and he gave her back to Rma, saying: “ O Rma, here is thy St, whom no stain has touched. Not in word or thought or look has St turned aside from thee. Albeit tempted every way, she did not think of Rvana even in her inmost heart. As she is spotless, do thou take her back.” Rma, staying silent for a while, with shining eyes pondered the speech of Agni; then he answered: “ Because this fair one dwelt long time in Rvana’s house, she needed vindication before the assembled folk. Had I taken her unproved, the people would complain that Rma, son of King Dasharatha, was moved by desire, and set at naught social law. I know well that St’s heart is set on me alone, and that her own virtue was her sufficient refuge from the assaults of Rvana; she is mine as the sun’s rays are the sun’s. I can no more renounce her, but rather it behoves me to obey your happy words.” Thus the glorious son of Dasharatha regained his bride, and his heart was glad.

Visions of the Gods

But now Shiva took up the word, and revealed to Rma his father Dasharatha stationed on a shining car amongst the gods, and Rma and Lakshman bowed to him ; and he, beholding his dearest son, took Rma on his lap, and spake: “ Even in heaven amongst the gods I am not happy, lacking thee. I call to mind even now Kaikey’s word, and thou hast redeemed my pledge and freed me from every debt. Now I have heard that thou art the primal male incarnate for the compassing of Rvana’s death. Kaushaly shall be glad to see thee return victorious. Blessed are those that shall behold thee installed as Lord of Ayodhy! Thy term of exile is ended. Do thou rule with thy brothers now in Ayodhy and have long life!” Then Rma prayed his father : “ Do thou now forgive Kaikey, and take back thy dreadful curse wherewith thou didst renounce her and her son.” Then Dasharatha said: “ So be it”; and to Lakshman : “ May good befall thee, thou truth and honour, and thou shalt attain a lofty place in heaven. Do thou attend on Rma, whom all the gods adore with folded hands.” And to St he said : “ Thou shouldst not feel resentment forasmuch as Rma renounced thee; for thy welfare it was done. Now hast thou attained a glory hard to be won by women! Thou knowest well the duty of a wife. It needs not for me to tell thee that thy husband is thy very god,” Then Dasharatha in his car returned to Indra’s heaven.

Next Indra, standing before Rma, with folded hands addressed him, saying : “ O Rma, first of men, it may not be for naught that we are come to thee. Do thou pray for such a boon as thou desirest.” Then Rma spoke, delighted: “O Lord of Heaven and foremost of the eloquent, do thou grant me this, that all the monkeys slain in battle return to life and see again their wives and children. Do thou restore those bears and monkeys that fought for me and laboured hard and recked nothing of death. And let there be flowers and fruits and roots for them, and rivers of clear water, even out of season, wherever they may go.” And Indra granted that great boon, so that a host of monkeys rose up, asking like wakened sleepers: “What has happened?” Then the gods, once more addressing Rma, said: “ Do thou return to Ayodhy, sending the monkeys on their way. Comfort St, seek out thy brother Bharata, and, being installed as king, do thou bestow good fortune on every citizen.” Therewith the gods departed, and the happy army made their camp.

Rma’s Return

When morning dawned, Rma, taking the car Pushpaka, given to him by Vibhishana, stood ready to depart. Self-moving was that car, and it was very fairly painted and large; two stories it had, and windows and flags and banners and many chambers, and it gave forth a melodious sound as it coursed along the airy way. Then said Vibhishana : “ What more may I do?” and Rma answered: “ Do thou content these bears and monkeys who have accomplished my affair with divers jewels and wealth; then shall they fare to their homes. And do thou rule as one who is righteous, self-controlled, compassionate, a just collector of revenues, that all may be attached to thee.” Then Vibhishana bestowed wealth on all the host, and Rma was taking leave of all the bears and monkeys and of Vibhishana ; but they cried out: “We wish to go with thee to Ayodhy.” Then Rma invited them gladly, and Sugriva and Vibhishana and all the host mounted the mighty car; and the car rose up into the sky, drawn by golden geese, and sailed on its airy way, while the monkeys, bears, and rkshasas took their ease.

But when they passed by the city of Kishkindh, Sugriva’s capital, St prayed Rma to take with him to Ayodhy Tr, the wife of Sugriva, and the wives of other monkey-chiefs; and he stayed the car while Sugriva brought Tr and the wives of other monkeys. And they mounted and set forth towards Ayodhy. They passed across Chitrakuta and Jamna and the Ganges where it divides in three, and at last beheld Ayodhy, and bowed to her; and all the bears and monkeys and Vibhishana rose up in delight to see her, shining fair as Amarvat, the capital of Indra. It was the fifth day after the last of fourteen years of exile when Rma greeted the hermit Bharadwja, and from him learnt that Bharata awaited his return, leading a hermit’s life and honouring the sandals. And Bharadwja gave him a boon, that the trees along the road to Ayodhy should bear flowers and fruit as he went, even though out of season. And so it was that for three leagues, from Bharadwja’s hermitage to Ayodhy’s gate, the trees bore flowers and fruits, and the monkeys thought themselves in heaven. But Hanuman was sent in advance to bring back tidings from Ayodhy and Bharata, and speedily he went, in human form. He came to Bharata in his hermitage garbed as a yogi, thin and worn, but radiant as a mighty sage, and ruling the earth as viceroy of the sandals. Then Hanuman related to him all that had befallen Rma since the brothers parted in Chitrakuta, and Bharata’s heart was filled with gladness, and he gave orders to prepare the city and to worship all the gods with music and flowers, and that all the people should come forth to welcome Rma. The roads were watered and the flags hoisted, and the city was filled with the sound of cavalry and cars and elephants. Then Rma came, and Bharata worshipped him and bathed his feet and humbly greeted him; but Rma lifted him up and took him in his arms. Then Bharata bowed to St, and welcomed Lakshman, and embraced the monkey-chiefs, naming Sugriva “ our fifth brother”; and he praised Vibhishana.

Then Rma came to his mother and humbly touched her feet, and he made salutation to the priests. Next Bharata brought the sandals and laid them at Rma’s feet, and with folded hands he said: “All this, thy kingdom, that thou didst entrust to me, I now return: behold, thy wealth of treasure, palace, and army is tenfold multiplied.” Then placing his brother on his lap, Rma fared on to Bharata’s hermitage, and there descending, Rma spake to the good car : “ Do thou return to Vaish-rvan—I grant thee leave.” For that self-coursing car had been taken by Rvana from his elder brother; but now at Rma’s word it returned to the God of Wealth.

Rma installed with St

Then Bharata restored the kingdom to his brother, saying: “Let the world behold thee to-day installed, like the radiant midday sun. None but thou can bear the heavy burden of an empire such as ours. Do thou no more dwell in lonely places, but sleep and rise to the sound of music and the tinkle of women’s anklets. Do thou rule the people as long as the sun endures and as far as earth extends.” And Rma said : “ So be it.”

Then skilful barbers came, and Rma and Lakshman bathed and were shorn of their matted locks and dressed in shining robes; and Dasharatha’s queens attended St and decked her in splendid jewels, while Kaushaly decked the monkeys’ wives, and the priests gave orders for the coronation. Then Rma mounted a car driven by Bharata, and Satrughna held the umbrella, and Lakshman waved a chowry and Vibhishana another. Sugriva rode on an elephant, and the other monkeys followed riding on elephants to the number of nine thousand, and with music and the noise of conchs the lord of men entered his own city. Four golden jars were given to Hanuman and Jambavn and Vegadarshi and Rishabha to fetch pure water from the four oceans, and they rose into the sky and brought the holy water from the utmost bounds of ocean, north and south and east and west. Then Vshishtha, setting Rma and St upon their golden throne, sprinkled that first of men and consecrated him as king of Ayodhy. Thereat the gods rejoiced, and the gandharvas sang and the apsaras danced ; the earth was filled with crops, the trees bore fruit and flowers, and all men were glad and merry. And Rma conferred upon the Brahmans gifts of gold and ornaments, and cows and horses; to Angada he gave a golden jewelled chain such as are worn by the gods, and to St a necklace of matchless pearls and other ornaments and splendid robes. But she, holding the pearls in her hand, glanced at her lord, and from him to Hanuman, remembering his goodly service; and Rma, reading her wish, granted her leave, and she gave the necklace to Hanuman. And the Wind-god’s son, exemplar of energy, renown, capacity, humility, and courage, wearing that garland, shone like a mountain illumined by the moon and fleecy clouds. And to every other hero Rma gave due gifts of jewels and wealth. Then Sugriva and Hanuman and Jambavn, with all the host, returned to their own homes, and Vibhishana repaired to Lank; but Rma governed Ayodhy, and in his time men lived for a thousand years, and due rains fell, and the winds were ever favourable, and there was no distress from sickness or from wild beasts or from invasion, but all men were glad and merry.

Rma Reigns

Then, while Rma sat on the throne, all the great hermits came to visit him who had regained his kingdom. They came from east and west and north and south, led by Agastya, and Rma worshipped them and appointed for them splendid seats of sacrificial grass and gold-embroidered deer-skin. Then the sages praised Rma’s fortune, especially inasmuch as he had slain Rvana’s son, mightier than Rvana himself, and had delivered men and gods from fear. Then Rma questioned the sages about the former history of Rvana and Rvana’s son, and they related to him at length the story of the rkshasas’ origin—how they had come to Lank; how Rvana, Kumbhakarna, and Vibhishana had won each a boon from the grandsire; what evil deeds had been done by Rvana; and how the gods had appointed Vishnu to take human form to achieve his death. Likewise they told of the origin and deeds of the monkeys Vli and Sugriva and Hanuman. “ And, O Rma!” they said, “ in the golden age the demon sought to fight with thee; for those whom the gods destroy go to the heaven of the gods till they are born again on earth; those whom Vishnu slays go to Vishnu’s heaven, so that his very wrath is a blessing. And it was for this that Rvana stole St away and thou didst assume a human form for his destruction, O great one, know that thou art Nryana: do thou recollect thyself. Thou art the eternal Vishnu, and St is Lakshm.” Rma himself and all the assembled folk—Rma’s brothers, the monkey-chiefs, the rkshasas under Vibhishana, the vassal kings, and the Brahmans, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras of Ayodhy—marvelled at the words of the great sages; and Agastya took leave of Rma and departed, and night fell.

Hanuman Rewarded

The monkeys dwelt at Ayodhy more than a month, feasting on honey and well-cooked meats and fruits and roots, though it seemed to them but a moment, because of their devotion toward Rma. Then the time came for them to go to their own city, and Rma embraced them all with affection and gave them goodly gifts. But Hanuman bowed and begged this boon, that he might ever be devoted to Rma alone, and that he might live on earth so long as the story of Rma’s deeds was told of amongst men; and Rma granted it, and took from his own neck a jewelled chain and put it upon Hanuman. One by one the monkeys came and touched the feet of Rma, and then went their way; but they wept for sorrow of leaving him.

St’s Second Trial

Then Rma governed Ayodhy for ten thousand years ; and at length it came to pass that St had conceived. Then Rma asked her if she had any longing, and she replied that she desired to visit the hermitages of the sages by the Ganges; and Rma said: “So be it”; and the visit was fixed for the morrow.

The same night it happened that Rma was engaged in converse with his counsellors and friends, and he asked them: “ What do the citizens and countrymen say of St and my brothers and Kaikey?” And one replied that they spoke often of Rma’s great conquest of Rvana. But Rma pressed for more definite reports, and a counsellor replied: “ The people do indeed speak of thy great deeds and thy alliance with the bears and monkeys and rkshasas; but they murmur inasmuch as thou hast taken St back, albeit she was touched by Rvana and dwelt long time in his city of Lank. For all that, they say, thou dost still acknowledge her. ‘Now we, too, will pass over the misdoings of our wives, for subjects always follow the customs of their king.’ Such, O king, is the talk.”

Then Rma’s heart sank, and he sent away the counsellors and sent for his brothers, and they came and stood by him with folded hands and touched his feet. But they saw that he was heavy-hearted and that his eyes were full of tears, and waited anxiously for him to speak. Then Rma told them what he had learnt. “ I am crushed by these slanders,” he said, “for I am of an illustrious family, and St is no less nobly born. And St, to prove her innocence, submitted to ordeal by fire before you all, and Fire and Wind and all the gods declared her stainless. Even now my heart knows her to be blameless. But the censure of the folk has pierced me: ill is ill-fame for such as I, and preferable were death than this disgrace. Do thou, therefore, Lakshman, make no question, but take St with thee to-morrow to Vlmki’s hermitage beside the Ganges, as if fulfilling the desire she spoke of even now; and by my life and arms, do ye not seek to move me from this, lest I deem you to be my foes.” And Pma’s eyes were full of tears, and he went to his own apartment sighing like a wounded elephant.

The next morning Lakshman brought a goodly car and came to St, saying : “ Rma hath commanded me to take thee to the hermitages by the Ganges in accordance with thy wish.” Then St, taking costly gifts with her, mounted the car most eagerly. On the second day they came to the Ganges bank, whose water takes away all sin; but Lakshman stood and wept aloud. Then St asked him why he wept. “ For,” she said, “it is but two days since thou didst see Rma: he is dearer to me than life, but I am not so sad as thou. Do thou take me across the river to visit the hermits there and present my gifts, and then shall we return; and, indeed, I am eager to see my lord again, whose eyes are like the petals of the lotus, the lion-breast, the first of men.” So Lakshman sent for boatmen, and they went across. When they were come to the other side, Lakshman stood by St with folded hands and prayed her to forgive him and not deem him at fault, saying: “This is a matter too sore for words, so I but tell thee openly that Rma now renounces thee, inasmuch as the citizens have spoken against thee; he has commanded me to leave thee here, as if in satisfaction of thy own desire. But do not grieve, for well I know that thou art guiltless, and thou mayst dwell with Vlmki, our father’s friend. Do thou remember Rma always and serve the gods, so mayst thou be blest ! ” Then St fell down fainting; but she came to herself and complained bitterly: “ Alas ! I must have greatly sinned in a past life to be thus divided from my lord, though blameless. O Lakshman, formerly it was no hardship for me to live in the forest, for I was able to be Rma’s servant. But how can I live there all alone now, and what reply can I make to those who ask what sin I have committed to be banished thus? I would fain be drowned in these waters, but I may not bring about the destruction of my lord’s race. Do thou as Rma has ordered, but take this message from me to him : ‘Thou knowest, O Rma, that I am unstained and devoted utterly to thee. I understand that it is for the avoiding of ill-fame that thou dost renounce me, and it is my duty to serve thee even in this. A husband is a woman’s god, her friend and guru. I do not grieve for what befalls me, but because the people have spoken ill of me.’ Do thou go and tell these things to Rma.” Then Lakshman crossed the river again and came to Ayodhy; but St went to and fro without any refuge and began to cry aloud. Then Vlmki’s sons found her there, and Vlmki came to the river-side and comforted her, and brought her to the hermitage and gave her to the hermits’ wives to cherish with affection.

Lakshman found his brother sunk in grief and with his eyes filled with tears, and he was sorry, and touched his feet and stood with folded hands, and said: “ O sire, I have done all that thou didst command, and have left that peerless lady at Vlmki’s hermitage. Thou shouldst not grieve therefor; for such is the work of time, whereat the wise grieve not. Where there is growth there is decay; where there is prosperity there is also ruin; where there is birth there must be also death. Therefore, attachment to wife, or sons, or friends, or wealth is wrong, for separation is certain. Nor shouldst thou give way to grief before the folk, lest they blame thee again.”

Then Rma was comforted, and praised the words and love of Lakshman; and he sent for the priests and counsellors who waited, and occupied himself again with the affairs of state. But none had come that day for any affair, for in Rma’s time there was no disease or poverty, and none sought redress. But as Lakshman went away he saw a dog, that waited by the gate and barked, and he asked it what was its affair. Then the dog replied: “ I wish to tell it to Rma himself, who is the refuge of all creatures, and proclaims ‘Fear nothing’ to them all.” So Lakshman returned to Rma and informed him, and Rma sent for the dog to come to him. But the dog would not go in, saying : “ We are the vilest born, and we may not enter the houses of gods or kings or Brhmans.” Then Lakshman took this message also to Rma; but he sent again for the dog and gave him leave to enter, who waited at the gate.

Rma’s Justice

Then the dog went in and stood before Rma, and praised his truth and asked his pardon; and Rma inquired: “What shall I do for thee? Do thou speak without fear.” Then the dog related how a certain Brahman mendicant had beaten him without cause, and Rma sent for the Brahman, and he came, and asked what Rma required of him. Then Rma reasoned with him, saying: “O twice-born one, thou hast hurt this dog, who hurt thee not. Lo, anger is the worst of passions, like a sharp dagger, and steals away all virtue. Greater is the evil that may be wrought by lack of self-control than by the sword, or a serpent, or a foe implacable.” The Brahman answered: “ I had been seeking alms and was tired and hungry, and this dog would not move away, although I asked him, so I struck him. But, O king, I am guilty of error, and thou shouldst punish me, that I may escape from the fear of hell.” Rma considered what was a fitting punishment; but the dog requested: “Do thou appoint this Brahman head of a family.” So Rma honoured him and sent him away riding on an elephant; but the counsellors were astonished. To them Rma said : “ You do not understand this matter; but the dog knows what it signifies.” Then the dog, addressed by Rma, explained : “ I was once the head of a family, and I served the gods and Brahmans, and fed the very servants before I took my food, and I was gentle and benevolent; yet I have fallen into this sorry state. O king, this Brahman is cruel and impatient in his nature, and he will fail to discharge the duties of the head of a family, and will fall into Hell.” Then Rma wondered at the dog’s words, but the dog went away and betook himself to penance in Benares.

Another time there came a Brahman to the palace gate bearing the dead body of his son, and wailing: “ O my son, thou art but fourteen years of age, and I know not for what sin of mine it is that thou hast died; never have I lied, or hurt an animal, or done any other sin. It must be for some other reason that thou hast gone to Yama’s realm. Indeed, it must be that the king has sinned, for else such things may not befall. Therefore, O king, do thou confer life again upon him; or, if not, my wife and I will die here at thy gate, like those that have no king.”

Then Rma summoned a council of eight chief Brahmans, and Nrada took up the word and explained to Rma what had been the cause of the boy’s premature death. He told him of the four ages. “ And now, O king, the Kali age begins already, for a Shudra has begun to practise penances in thy kingdom, and for this cause the boy has died. Do thou search the matter out and put down such misdeeds, so that the virtue of thy subjects may increase and this boy may be restored to life.”

So Rma ordered the body of the boy to be preserved in sweet oil, and he bethought him of the self-coursing car Pushpaka, and it knew his mind and came to him straightway. Then Rma mounted the car and sought through every quarter; but he found no sin in the west nor in the north, and the east was crystal clear. Only in the south, beside a sacred pool, he found a yogi standing on his head practising the most severe disciplines, and Rma asked him: “ O thou blest and self-devoted, who art thou, and what thy colour, and what dost thou seek to win, whether Heaven or aught else?” And the yogi answered: “ O great Rma, I am of the Shudras, and it is for Heaven that I do this penance.” Then Rama drew his sword and cut off the yogi’s head, and the gods rained down flowers and praised the deed; but the Shudra yogi attained to the abode of the heavenly ones. Now Rma prayed to the gods : “If ye are pleased with me, do ye restore to life the Brahman’s son and so fulfil my promise ”; and they granted it, and Rma returned to Ayodhy. Meanwhile St, dwelling at Vlmki’s hermitage, gave birth to sons, and they were named Kusha and Lava; and they grew up in the forest hermitage, and Vlmki taught them wisdom, and he made this book of the Rmyana in shlokas, and gave them skill in recitation.

Rma’s Sons

In those days Rma prepared a horse-sacrifice, setting free a jet-black horse with lucky marks to wander where it would, and Lakshman followed it. Then he invited all the bears and monkeys, and Vibhishana and foreign kings, and the rishis and others of the hermits from far and near, to be present at the final ceremony. Countless wealth he gave away throughout the year while the horse wandered, yet the treasure of Rma was in no way diminished; never before was such an A shwamedha in the world !

Kusha and Lava came with Vlmki to the ceremony, and Vlmki told them to recite the Rmyana everywhere, and if any questioned them, to name themselves as Vlmki’s disciples. So they went about and sang of Rma’s deeds; and Rma heard of it, and he called a great assembly of the Brahmans and all kinds of grammarians and artists and musicians, and the hermit children sang before them all. Wondrous and delightful was their song, and none could hear enough of it; but all men drank up the children with their eyes, and murmured: “They are as like to Rma as one bubble is like another ! ” When Rma would have given them wealth, they answered: “ We are dwellers in the forest: what use would money be to us?” And when he asked who had composed that song, they answered : “Vlmki, who is our teacher. And, O king, if the story of thy feats delights thee, do thou hear it all at leisure.”

So Rma hearkened to the story day by day, and from it he learnt that Kusha and Lava were the sons of St. Then Rma mentioned St’s name before the assembly, and sent a messenger to inquire from the hermits if they would vouch for her faithfulness and to ask herself if she were willing to give proof of her innocence again. “ Ask her,” he said, “ if she will swear before the people to establish her own purity and mine.” The hermits sent back the message that she would come, and Rma was glad thereof, and appointed the next day for the taking of the oath. When the appointed time had come, and all were seated in the assembly, immovable as mountains, Vlmki came forward, and St followed him with downcast glance and folded hands and falling tears; and there rose a cry of welcome and a murmuring in the assembly when they saw St following Vlmki thus, like the Vedas following Brahm. Then Vlmki spoke before the people and said to Rma: “ O son of Dasharatha, albeit St is pure and doth follow the path of righteousness, thou didst renounce her near my hermitage because of the people’s censure. Do thou now permit her to give testimony of her purity. And, O Rma, I myself, who follow truth, tell thee that these twin children are thy sons. Also I swear before thee that if any sin be found in St I will forgo the fruit of all austerities I have practised for many thousand years.” Then Rma, seeing St standing before the assembly like a goddess, with folded hands, replied : “ O great one, thou art ever virtuous, and thy words convince me of the purity of St. I recognize these brothers Kusha and Lava as my sons. Yet St shall give testimony herself, for the sake of those that have come here to witness her avowal.”

St taken Home by Earth

Then there blew a sweet, cool, fragrant air, a divine zephyr such as used to blow only in the golden age, and folk were astonished that that air should blow also in the second age. But St, with downcast looks and folded palms, said : “ I have never thought of anyone but Rma even in my heart: as this is true, may the goddess of the earth be my protection. I have always with mind and body and words prayed for Rma’s welfare, and by this I pray Vasundhara to receive me.”

Then a heavenly throne rose up from within the earth, borne on the heads of mighty ngas,10 decked in shining jewels; and the Earth stretched out her arms and welcomed St and placed her on the throne, and the throne sank down again. Thereat the gods cried out in praise of St, and all beings on earth and in the sky were filled with wonder and astonishment, so that one mood for a single moment swayed all the universe at once.

But Rma sat him down stricken with sorrow and with hanging head, and he was torn by grief and anger that St had disappeared before his very eyes, and he would have destroyed the very Earth if she would not give St back. But Brahm said : “ O Rma of firm vows, thou shouldst not grieve ; rather remember thy essential godhead, and bethink thee thou art Vishnu. St is blameless and pure, and for her virtue she has gone to the abode of ngas; but thou shalt be with her in Heaven. Hearken now to the ending of Vlmki’s story, and thou shalt know thy future history” ; and therewith Brahm with the gods returned to his own place, and Rma appointed the morrow for the hearing of the Uttara Kanda.

The Last Days of Rma

But now Rma was heavy-hearted, and the whole world seemed empty without St, and he knew no peace. He gave the monkeys and the kings and hermits gifts, and sent them back to their own homes, and he made a golden image of St to share with him in the performance of sacred rites, and a thousand years passed, while all things prospered in the kingdom of Ayodhy. Then Kaushaly and Kaikey died, and were united with King Dasharatha in Heaven. Bharata reigned in Kekaya, and Satrughna was king of Madhu, while the sons of Lakshman founded kingdoms of their own.

At length there came to Rma’s palace the mighty yogi Time, and Rma honoured him. He named himself Time, begotten by Nryana on My, and he reminded Rma of his godly self and all that he had achieved in Heaven and on earth. “O Lord of the World,” he said, “thou wast born on earth for the destruction of the Ten-necked rkshasa, and thou didst undertake to dwell on earth for eleven thousand years. Now that time is ripe and the grandsire sendeth me to tell thee: now wilt thou reign yet longer over men, or wilt thou return to the lordship of the gods? ” Then Rma praised the yogi and said he had spoken truth, and for himself he would return to his own place.

But already Lakshman had left his home and gone to the banks of Sarayu to practise great austerities, and there the gods rained flowers upon him, and Indra lifted him from the earth and returned to his own city, so that all the gods, seeing the fourth part of Vishnu come back to them, were gladdened and began to worship him. Then Rma would follow the same path, and he sought to crown his brother Bharata as king of Ayodhy, but he refused and would have the king’s sons Kusha and Lava set over North and South Kosala ; and Rma granted it, and they were installed upon the throne and ruled over the new cities of Kushavati and Sravanti ; but Ayodhy was altogether emptied of people, for the folk would all follow after Rma when he went away. News of these matters was brought to Satrughna also, and he set his two sons on the throne of Mathur and hastened to return to Rma. Hearing that Rma was going away, the monkeys, born of the gods, went to Ayodhy and beheld him ; and Sugriva said: “ I have set Angada upon the throne of Kishkindh, and I will follow thee.”

Then Rma granted the desire of all the monkeys to follow him; but to Hanuman he said : “ It is determined already that thou shalt live for ever: do thou be glad on earth so long as the tale of me endures.” To Jambavn and some others Rma appointed life till the end of the Kali age, and other bears and monkeys he gave leave to follow him. To Vibhishana he gave good counsel regarding government, and ever to worship Jagannatha, Lord of the World.

The next day Vshishtha prepared all due rites for those who go to the other world, and all men following Rma and the Brahmans set out for Sarayu. There went Bharata and Lakshman and Satrughna and their wives, and the counsellors and servants; and all the people of Ayodhy, with the beasts and birds and the least of breathing things; and the bears and rkshasas and monkeys followed Rma with happy hearts.

When they came to Sarayu, Brahm, the grandsire, came thither with the godly folk and a hundred thousand goodly cars, and the wind of Heaven blew and flowers rained down from Heaven upon earth. Then Brahm said to Rma: “Hail, O Vishnu ! Do thou, with thy brothers, enter in again in whatsoever form thou wilt, who art the refuge of all creatures, and beyond the range of thought or speech, unknown of any save thy My.” Then Vishnu entered Heaven in his own form, with his brothers, and all the gods bowed down to him and rejoiced. Then said Vishnu to the grandsire: “ It behoveth thee to allot their due place to all these people who have followed me for love, renouncing self for my sake.” Then Brahm appointed places in the heavens for all those who had come after Rma, and the bears and monkeys assumed their godly forms, after the likeness of those who had begotten them. Thus did all beings there assembled, entering the waters of Sarayu, attain to the heavenly state, and Brahm and the gods returned to their own abode.

 

Thus ends Rmyana, revered by Brahm and made by Vlmki. He that hath no sons shall attain a son by reading even a single verse of Rma’s lay. All sin is washed away from those who read or hear it read. He who recites Rmyana should have rich gifts of cows and gold. Long shall he live who reads Rmyana, and shall be honoured, with his sons and grandsons, in this world and in Heaven.