The Ramayana Part 147

Here moved a priest with tonsured head, And there an eager envoy sped, Mid crowds with hair in matted twine Clothed in the skins of deer and kine,- Whose only arms, which none might blame, Were blades of gra.s.s and holy flame(806) There savage warriors roamed in bands With clubs and maces in their hands, Some dwarfish forms, some huge of size, With single ears and single eyes.

Some shone in glittering mail arrayed With bow and mace and flas.h.i.+ng blade; Fiends of all shapes and every hue, Some fierce and foul, some fair to view.

He saw the grisly legions wait In strictest watch at Rava?'s gate, Whose palace on the mountain crest Rose proudly towering o'er the rest, Fenced with high ramparts from the foe, And lotus-covered moats below.

But Hanuman, unhindered, found Quick pa.s.sage through the guarded bound, Mid elephants of n.o.blest breed, And gilded car and neighing steed.

[I omit Canto V. which corresponds to chapter XI. in Gorresio's edition.

That scholar justly observes: "The eleventh chapter, Description of Evening, is certainly the work of the Rhapsodists and an interpolation of later date. The chapter might be omitted without any injury to the action of the poem, and besides the metre, style, conceits and images differ from the general tenour of the poem; and that continual repet.i.tion of the same sounds at the end of each hemistich which is not exactly rime, but a.s.sonance, reveals the artificial labour of a more recent age." The following sample will probably be enough.

Fair shone the moon, as if to lend His cheering light to guide a friend, And, circled by the starry host, Looked down upon the wild sea-coast.

The Vanar cheiftain raised his eyes, And saw him sailing through the skies Like a bright swan who joys to take His pastime on a silver lake; Fair moon that calms the mourner's pain.

Heaves up the waters of the main, And o'er the life beneath him throws A tender light of soft repose, The charm that clings to Mandar's hill, Gleams in the sea when winds are still, And decks the lilly's opening flower, Showed in that moon her sweetest power.

I am unable to show the difference of style in a translation.]

Canto VI. The Court.

The palace gates were guarded well By many a Rakshas sentinel, And far within, concealed from view, Were dames and female retinue For charm of form and face renowned; Whose tinkling armlets made a sound, Clashed by the wearers in their glee, Like music of a distant sea.

The hall beyond the palace gate, Rich with each badge of royal state, Where lines of n.o.ble courtiers stood, Showed like a lion-guarded wood.

There the wild music rose and fell Of drum and tabor and of sh.e.l.l, Through chambers at each holy tide By solemn wors.h.i.+p sanctified.

Through grove and garden, undismayed, From house to house the Vanar strayed, And still his wondering glances bent On terrace, dome, and battlement: Then with a light and rapid tread Prahasta's(807) home he visited, And k.u.mbhakar?a's(808) courtyard where A cloudy pile rose high in air; And, wandering o'er the hill, explored The garden of each Rakshas lord.

Each court and grove he wandered through, Then nigh to Rava?'s palace drew.

She-demons watched it foul of face, Each armed with sword and spear and mace, And warrior fiends of every hue, A strange and fearful retinue.

There elephants in many a row, The terror of the stricken foe.

Huge Airavat,(809) deftly trained In battle-fields, stood ready chained.

Fair litters on the ground were set Adorned with gems and golden net.

Gay bloomy creepers clothed the walls; Green bowers were there and picture halls, And chambers made for soft delight.

Broad banners waved on every height.

And from the roof like Mandar's hill The peac.o.c.k's cry came loud and shrill.(810)

Canto VII. Ravan's Palace.

He pa.s.sed within the walls and gazed On gems and gold that round him blazed, And many a latticed window bright With turkis and with lazulite.

Through porch and ante-rooms he pa.s.sed Each richer, fairer than the last; And s.p.a.cious halls where lances lay, And bows and sh.e.l.ls, in fair array: A glorious house that matched in show All Paradise displayed below.

Upon the polished floor were spread Fresh buds and blossoms white and red, And women shone, a lovely crowd, As lightning flashes through a cloud: A palace splendid as the sky Which moon and planets glorify: Like earth whose towering hills unfold Their zones and streaks of glittering gold; Where waving on the mountain brows The tall trees bend their laden boughs, And every bough and tender spray With a bright load of bloom is gay, And every flower the breeze has bent Fills all the region with its scent.

Near the tall palace pale of hue Shone lovely lakes where lilies blew, And lotuses with flower and bud Gleamed on the bosom of the flood.

There shone with gems that flashed afar The marvel of the Flower-named(811) car, Mid wondrous dwellings still confessed Supreme and n.o.bler than the rest.

Thereon with wondrous art designed Were turkis birds of varied kind.

And many a sculptured serpent rolled His twisted coil in burnished gold.

And steeds were there of n.o.blest form With flying feet as fleet as storm: And elephants with deftest skill Stood sculptured by a silver rill, Each bearing on his trunk a wreath Of lilies from the flood beneath.

There Lakshmi,(812) beauty's heavenly queen, Wrought by the artist's skill, was seen Beside a flower-clad pool to stand Holding a lotus in her hand.

Canto VIII. The Enchanted Car.

There gleamed the car with wealth untold Of precious gems and burnished gold; Nor could the Wind-G.o.d's son withdraw His rapt gaze from the sight he saw, By Visvakarma's(813) self proclaimed The n.o.blest work his hand had framed.

Uplifted in the air it glowed Bright as the sun's diurnal road.

The eye might scan the wondrous frame And vainly seek one spot to blame, So fine was every part and fair With gems inlaid with lavish care.

No precious stones so rich adorn The cars wherein the G.o.ds are borne, Prize of the all-resistless might That sprang from pain and penance rite,(814) Obedient to the master's will It moved o'er wood and towering hill, A glorious marvel well designed By Visvakarma's artist mind, Adorned with every fair device That decks the cars of Paradise.

Swift moving as the master chose It flew through air or sank or rose,(815) And in its fleetness left behind The fury of the rus.h.i.+ng wind: Meet mansion for the good and great, The holy, wise, and fortunate.

Throughout the chariot's vast extent Were chambers wide and excellent, All pure and lovely to the eyes As moonlight shed from cloudless skies.

Fierce goblins, rovers of the night Who cleft the clouds with swiftest flight In countless hosts that chariot drew, With earrings clas.h.i.+ng as they flew.

Canto IX. The Ladies' Bower.

Where stately mansions rose around, A palace fairer still he found, Whose royal height and splendour showed Where Rava?'s self, the king, abode.

A chosen band with bow and sword Guarded the palace of their lord, Where Raksha's dames of n.o.ble race And many a princess fair of face Whom Rava?'s arm had torn away From vanquished kings in slumber lay.

There jewelled arches high o'erhead An ever-changing l.u.s.tre shed From ruby, pearl, and every gem On golden pillars under them.

Delicious came the tempered air That breathed a heavenly summer there, Stealing through bloomy trees that bore Each pleasant fruit in endless store.

No check was there from jealous guard, No door was fast, no portal barred; Only a sweet air breathed to meet The stranger, as a host should greet A wanderer of his kith and kin And woo his weary steps within.

He stood within a s.p.a.cious hall With fretted roof and painted wall, The giant Rava?'s boast and pride, Loved even as a lovely bride.

'Twere long to tell each marvel there, The crystal floor, the jewelled stair, The gold, the silver, and the s.h.i.+ne Of chrysolite and almandine.

There breathed the fairest blooms of spring; There flashed the proud swan's silver wing, The splendour of whose feathers broke Through fragrant wreaths of aloe smoke.

"'Tis Indra's heaven," the Vanar cried, Gazing in joy from side to side; "The home of all the G.o.ds is this, The mansion of eternal bliss."

There were the softest carpets spread, Delightful to the sight and tread, Where many a lovely woman lay O'ercome by sleep, fatigued with play.

The wine no longer cheered the feast, The sound of revelry had ceased.

The tinkling feet no longer stirred, No chiming of a zone was heard.

So when each bird has sought her nest, And swans are mute and wild bees rest, Sleep the fair lilies on the lake Till the sun's kiss shall bid them wake.

Like the calm field of winter's sky Which stars unnumbered glorify, So shone and glowed the sumptuous room With living stars that chased the gloom.

"These are the stars," the chieftain cried, "In autumn nights that earth-ward glide, In brighter forms to reappear And s.h.i.+ne in matchless l.u.s.tre here."

With wondering eyes a while he viewed Each graceful form and att.i.tude.

One lady's head was backward thrown, Bare was her arm and loose her zone.

The garland that her brow had graced Hung closely round another's waist.

Here gleamed two little feet all bare Of anklets that had sparkled there, Here lay a queenly dame at rest In all her glorious garments dressed.

There slept another whose small hand Had loosened every tie and band, In careless grace another lay With gems and jewels cast away, Like a young creeper when the tread Of the wild elephant has spread Confusion and destruction round, And cast it flowerless to the ground.

Here lay a slumberer still as death, Save only that her balmy breath Raised ever and anon the lace That floated o'er her sleeping face.

There, sunk in sleep, an amorous maid Her sweet head on a mirror laid, Like a fair lily bending till Her petals rest upon the rill.

Another black-eyed damsel pressed Her lute upon her heaving breast, As though her loving arms were twined Round him for whom her bosom pined.

Another pretty sleeper round A silver vase her arms had wound, That seemed, so fresh and fair and young A wreath of flowers that o'er it hung.

In sweet disorder lay a throng Weary of dance and play and song, Where heedless girls had sunk to rest One pillowed on another's breast, Her tender cheek half seen beneath Bed roses of the falling wreath, The while her long soft hair concealed The beauties that her friend revealed.

With limbs at random interlaced Round arm and leg and throat and waist, That wreath of women lay asleep Like blossoms in a careless heap.

Canto X. Ravan Asleep.