The Ramayana Part 124

Canto X. Sugriva's Story.

"I strove to soothe and lull to rest The fury of his troubled breast: "Well art thou come, dear lord," I cried.

"By whose strong arm thy foe has died.

Forlorn I languished here, but now My saviour and defence art thou.

Once more receive this regal shade(565) Like the full moon in heaven displayed; And let the chouries,(566) thus restored, Wave glorious o'er the rightful lord.

I kept my watch, thy word obeyed, And by the cave a year I stayed.

But when I saw that stream of blood Rush from the cavern in a flood, My sad heart broken with dismay, And every wandering sense astray, I barred the entrance with a stone,- A crag from some high mountain thrown- Turned from the spot I watched in vain, And to Kishkindha came again.

My deep distress and downcast mien By citizen and lord were seen.

They made me king against my will: Forgive me if the deed was ill.

True as I ever was I see My honoured king once more in thee; I only ruled a while the state When thou hadst left us desolate.

This town with people, lords, and lands, Lay as a trust in guardian hands: And now, my gracious lord, accept The kingdom which thy servant kept.

Forgive me, victor of the foe, Nor let thy wrath against me glow.

See joining suppliant hands I pray, And at thy feet my head I lay.

Believe my words: against my will The royal seat they made me fill.

Unkinged they saw the city, hence They made me lord for her defence."

But Bali, though I humbly sued, Reviled me in his furious mood: "Out on thee, wretch!" in wrath he cried With many a bitter taunt beside.

He summoned every lord, and all His subjects gathered at his call.

Then forth his burning anger broke, And thus amid his friends he spoke: "I need not tell, for well ye know, How fierce Mayavi, fiend and foe, Came to Kishkindha's gate by night, And dared me in his wrath to fight.

I heard each word the demon said: Forth from my royal hall I sped; And, foe in brother's guise concealed, Sugriva followed to the field.

The mighty demon through the shade Beheld me come with one to aid: Then shrinking from unequal fight, He turned his back in swiftest flight.

From vengeful foes his life to save He sought the refuge of a cave.

Then when I saw the fiend had fled Within that cavern dark and dread, Thus to my brother cruel-eyed, Impatient in my wrath, I cried: "I seek no more my royal town Till I have struck the demon down.

Here by the cavern's mouth remain Until my hand the foe have slain."

Upon his faith my heart relied, And swift within the depths I hied.

A year went by: in every spot I sought the fiend, but found him not.

At length my foe I saw and slew, Whom long I feared when lost to view; And all his kinsmen by his side Beneath my vengeful fury died.

The monster, as he reeled and fell, Poured forth his blood with roar and yell; And, filling all the cavern, dyed The portal with the crimson tide.

Upon my foeman slain at last One look, one pitying look, I cast.

I sought again the light of day: The cave was closed and left no way.

To the barred mouth I sadly came, And called aloud Sugriva's name.

But all was still: no voice replied, And hope within my bosom died.

With furious efforts, vain at first, Through bars of rock my way I burst.

Then, free once more, the path that brought My feet in safety home I sought.

'Twas thus Sugriva dared despise The claim of brothers' friendly ties.

With crags of rock he barred me in, And for himself the realm would win."

Thus Bali spoke in words severe; And then, unmoved by ruth or fear, Left me a single robe and sent His brother forth in banishment.

He cast me out with scathe and scorn, And from my side my wife was torn.

Now in great fear and ill at ease I roam this land with woods and seas, Or dwell on Rishyamuka's hill, And sorrow for my consort still.

Thou hast the tale how first arose This bitter hate of brother foes.

Such are the griefs neath which I pine, And all without a fault of mine.

O swift to save in hour of fear, My prayer who dread this Bali, hear With gracious love a.s.sistance deign, And mine oppressor's arm restrain."

Then Raghu's son, the good and brave, With a gay laugh his answer gave: "These shafts of mine which ne'er can fail, Before whose sheen the sun grows pale, Winged by my fury, fleet and fierce, The wicked Bali's heart shall pierce.

Yea, mark the words I speak, so long Shall live that wretch who joys in wrong, Until these angered eyes have seen The robber of thy darling queen.

I, taught by equal suffering, know What waves of grief above thee flow.

This hand thy captive wife shall free, And give thy kingdom back to thee."

Sugriva joyed as Rama spoke, And valour in his breast awoke.

His eye grew bright, his heart grew bold, And thus his wondrous tale he told:

Canto XI. Dundubhi.

"I doubt not, Prince, thy peerless might, Armed with these shafts so keen and bright, Like all-destroying fires of fate, The worlds could burn and devastate.

But lend thou first thy mind and ear Of Bali's power and might to hear.

How bold, how firm, in battle tried, Is Bali's heart; and then decide.

From east to west, from south to north On restless errand hurrying forth, From farthest sea to sea he flies Before the sun has lit the skies.

A mountain top he oft will seek, Tear from its root a towering peak, Hurl it aloft, as 'twere a ball, And catch it ere to earth it fall.

And many a tree that long has stood In health and vigour in the wood, His single arm to earth will throw, The marvels of his might to show.

Shaped like a bull, a monster bore The name of Dundubhi of yore: He matched in size a mountain height, A thousand elephants in might.

By pride of wondrous gifts impelled, And strength he deemed unparalleled, To Ocean, lord of stream and brook, Athirst for war, his way he took.

He reached the king of rolling waves Whose gems are piled in sunless caves, And threw his challenge to the sea; "Come forth, O King, and fight with me."

He spoke, and from his ocean bed The righteous(567) monarch heaved his head, And gave, sedate, his calm reply To him whom fate impelled to die: "Not mine, not mine the power," he cried, "To cope with thee in battle tried; But listen to my voice, and seek The worthier foe of whom I speak.

The Lord of Hills, where hermits live And love the home his forests give, Whose child is Sankar's darling queen,(568) The King of Snows is he I mean.

Deep caves has he, and dark boughs shade The torrent and the wild cascade.

From him expect the fierce delight Which heroes feel in equal fight."

He deemed that fear checked ocean's king, And, like an arrow from the string, To the wild woods that clothe the side Of Lord Himalaya's hills he hied.

Then Dundubhi, with hideous roar, Huge fragments from the summit tore Vast as Airavat,(569) white with snow, And hurled them to the plains below.

Then like a white cloud soft, serene, The Lord of Mountains' form was seen.

It sat upon a lofty crest, And thus the furious fiend addressed: "Beseems thee not, O virtue's friend, My mountain tops to rive and rend; For I, the hermit's calm retreat, For deeds of war am all unmeet."

The demon's eye with rage grew red, And thus in furious tone he said: "If thou from fear or sloth decline To match thy strength in war with mine, Where shall I find a champion, say, To meet me burning for the fray?"

He spoke: Himalaya, skilled in lore Of eloquence, replied once more, And, angered in his righteous mind, Addressed the chief of demon kind: "The Vanar Bali, brave and wise, Son of the G.o.d who rules the skies,(570) Sways, glorious in his high renown, Kishkindha his imperial town.

Well may that valiant lord who knows Each art of war his might oppose To thine, in equal battle set, As Namuehi(571) and Indra met.

Go, if thy soul desire the fray; To Bali's city speed away, And that unconquered hero meet Whose fame is high for warlike feat."

He listened to the Lord of Snow, And, his proud heart with rage aglow, Sped swift away and lighted down By vast Kishkindha, Bali's town.

With pointed horns to strike and gore The semblance of a bull he bore, Huge as a cloud that downward bends Ere the full flood of rain descends.

Impelled by pride and rage and hate, He thundered at Kishkindha's gate; And with his bellowing, like the sound Of pealing drums, he shook the ground, He rent the earth and prostrate threw The trees that near the portal grew.

King Bali from the bowers within Indignant heard the roar and din.

Then, moonlike mid the stars, with all His dames he hurried to the wall; And to the fiend this speech, expressed In clear and measured words, addressed: "Know me for monarch. Bali styled, Of Vanar tribes that roam the wild.

Say why dost thou this gate molest, And bellowing thus disturb our rest?

I know thee, mighty fiend: beware And guard thy life with wiser care."

He spoke: and thus the fiend returned, While red with rage his eyeb.a.l.l.s burned: "What! speak when all thy dames are nigh And hero-like thy foe defy?

Come, meet me in the fight this day, And learn my strength by bold a.s.say.

Or shall I spare thee, and relent Until the coming night be spent?

Take then the respite of a night And yield thee to each soft delight.

Then, monarch of the Vanar race With loving arms thy friends embrace.

Gifts on thy faithful lords bestow, Bid each and all farewell, and go.

Show in the streets once more thy face, Install thy son to fill thy place.

Dally a while with each dear dame; And then my strength thy pride shall tame For, should I smite thee drunk with wine Enamoured of those dames of thine, Beneath diseases bowed and bent, Or weak, unarmed, or negligent, My deed would merit hate and scorn As his who slays the child unborn."