Part 36 (1/2)
The king fulfilled their wish; and while they burned, In mute, sin-stricken sorrow he returned, Hiding death's seed within him, as the sea Hides magic fire that burns eternally.
Thus is foreshadowed in the birth of Rama, his banishment, and the death of his father.
Cantos ten to fifteen form the kernel of the epic, for they tell the story of Rama, the mighty hero of Raghu's line. In these cantos Kalidasa attempts to present anew, with all the literary devices of a more sophisticated age, the famous old epic story sung in masterly fas.h.i.+on by the author of the _Ramayana_. As the poet is treading ground familiar to all who hear him, the action of these cantos is very compressed.
_Tenth canto. The incarnation of Rama_.--While Dasharatha, desiring a son, is childless, the G.o.ds, oppressed by a giant adversary, betake themselves to Vishnu, seeking aid. They sing a hymn of praise, a part of which is given here.
O thou who didst create this All, Who dost preserve it, lest it fall, Who wilt destroy it and its ways-- To thee, O triune Lord, be praise.
As into heaven's water run The tastes of earth--yet it is one, So thou art all the things that range The universe, yet dost not change.
Far, far removed, yet ever near; Untouched by pa.s.sion, yet austere; Sinless, yet pitiful of heart; Ancient, yet free from age--Thou art.
Though uncreate, thou seekest birth; Dreaming, thou watchest heaven and earth; Pa.s.sionless, smitest low thy foes; Who knows thy nature, Lord? Who knows?
Though many different paths, O Lord, May lead us to some great reward, They gather and are merged in thee Like floods of Ganges in the sea.
The saints who give thee every thought, Whose every act for thee is wrought, Yearn for thine everlasting peace, For bliss with thee, that cannot cease.
Like pearls that grow in ocean's night, Like sunbeams radiantly bright, Thy strange and wonder-working ways Defeat extravagance of praise.
If songs that to thy glory tend Should weary grow or take an end, Our impotence must bear the blame, And not thine unexhausted name.
Vishnu is gratified by the praise of the G.o.ds, and asks their desire.
They inform him that they are distressed by Ravana, the giant king of Lanka (Ceylon), whom they cannot conquer. Vishnu promises to aid them by descending to earth in a new avatar, as son of Dasharatha. Shortly afterwards, an angel appears before King Dasharatha, bringing in a golden bowl a substance which contains the essence of Vishnu. The king gives it to his three wives, who thereupon conceive and dream wonderful dreams. Then Queen Kausalya gives birth to Rama; Queen Kaikeyi to Bharata; Queen Sumitra to twins, Lakshmana and Shatrughna.
Heaven and earth rejoice. The four princes grow up in mutual friends.h.i.+p, yet Rama and Lakshmana are peculiarly drawn to each other, as are Bharata and Shatrughna. So beautiful and so modest are the four boys that they seem like incarnations of the four things worth living for--virtue, money, love, and salvation.
_Eleventh canto. The victory over Rama-with-the-axe_.--At the request of the holy hermit Vishvamitra, the two youths Rama and Lakshmana visit his hermitage, to protect it from evil spirits. The two lads little suspect, on their maiden journey, how much of their lives will be spent in wandering together in the forest. On the way they are attacked by a giantess, whom Rama kills; the first of many giants who are to fall at his hand. He is given magic weapons by the hermit, with which he and his brother kill other giants, freeing the hermitage from all annoyance. The two brothers then travel with the hermit to the city of Mithila, attracted thither by hearing of its king, his wonderful daughter, and his wonderful bow. The bow was given him by the G.o.d s.h.i.+va; no man has been able to bend it; and the beautiful princess's hand is the prize of any man who can perform the feat. On the way thither, Rama brings to life Ahalya, a woman who in a former age had been changed to stone for unfaithfulness to her austere husband, and had been condemned to remain a stone until trodden by Rama's foot. Without further adventure, they reach Mithila, where the hermit presents Rama as a candidate for the bending of the bow.
The king beheld the boy, with beauty blest And famous lineage; he sadly thought How hard it was to bend the bow, distressed Because his child must be so dearly bought.
He said: ”O holy one, a mighty deed That full-grown elephants with greatest pain Could hardly be successful in, we need Not ask of elephant-cubs. It would be vain.
For many splendid kings of valorous name, Bearing the scars of many a hard-fought day, Have tried and failed; then, covered with their shame, Have shrugged their shoulders, cursed, and strode away.”
Yet when the bow is given to the youthful Rama, he not only bends, but breaks it. He is immediately rewarded with the hand of the Princess Sita, while Lakshmana marries her sister. On their journey home with their young brides, dreadful portents appear, followed by their cause, a strange being called Rama-with-the-axe, who is carefully to be distinguished from Prince Rama. This Rama-with-the-axe is a Brahman who has sworn to exterminate the entire warrior caste, and who naturally attacks the valorous prince. He makes light of Rama's achievement in breaking s.h.i.+va's bow, and challenges him to bend the mightier bow which he carries. This the prince succeeds in doing, and Rama-with-the-axe disappears, shamed and defeated. The marriage party then continues its journey to Ayodhya.
_Twelfth canto. The killing of Ravana_.--King Dasharatha prepares to anoint Rama crown prince, when Queen Kaikeyi interposes. On an earlier occasion she had rendered the king a service and received his promise that he would grant her two boons, whatever she desired. She now demands her two boons: the banishment of Rama for fourteen years, and the anointing of her own son Bharata as crown prince. Rama thereupon sets out for the Dandaka forest in Southern India, accompanied by his faithful wife Sita and his devoted brother Lakshmana. The stricken father dies of grief, thus fulfilling the hermit's curse. Now Prince Bharata proves himself more generous than his mother; he refuses the kingdom, and is with great difficulty persuaded by Rama himself to act as regent during the fourteen years. Even so, he refuses to enter the capital city, dwelling in a village outside the walls, and preserving Rama's slippers as a symbol of the rightful king. Meanwhile Rama's little party penetrates the wild forests of the south, fighting as need arises with the giants there. Unfortunately, a giantess falls in love with Rama, and
In Sita's very presence told Her birth--love made her overbold: For mighty pa.s.sion, as a rule, Will change a woman to a fool.
Scorned by Rama, laughed at by Sita, she becomes furious and threatening.
Laugh on! Your laughter's fruit shall be Commended to you. Gaze on me!
I am a tigress, you shall know, Insulted by a feeble doe.
Lakshmana thereupon cuts off her nose and ears, rendering her redundantly hideous. She departs, to return presently at the head of an army of giants, whom Rama defeats single-handed, while his brother guards Sita. The giantess then betakes herself to her brother, the terrible ten-headed Ravana, king of Ceylon. He succeeds in capturing Sita by a trick, and carries her off to his fortress in Ceylon. It is plainly necessary for Rama to seek allies before attempting to cross the straits and attack the stronghold. He therefore renders an important service to the monkey king Sugriva, who gratefully leads an army of monkeys to his a.s.sistance. The most valiant of these, Hanumat, succeeds in entering Ravana's capital, where he finds Sita, gives her a token from Rama, and receives a token for Rama. The army thereupon sets out and comes to the seash.o.r.e, where it is reinforced by the giant Vibhishana, who has deserted his wicked brother Ravana. The monkeys hurl great boulders into the strait, thus forming a bridge over which they cross into Ceylon and besiege Ravana's capital. There ensue many battles between the giants and the monkeys, culminating in a tremendous duel between the champions, Rama and Ravana. In this duel Ravana is finally slain. Rama recovers his wife, and the princ.i.p.al personages of the army enter the flying chariot which had belonged to Ravana, to return to Ayodhya; for the fourteen years of exile are now over.