Ramayana, Book IV, Canto 40: The Army Of The Eastकिष्किन्धाकाण्डम्

Ralph T. H. Griffith’s English verse (1870–74), beside the Sanskrit of sarga 4.40.

40Sanskrit sarga 4.40 · Sanskrit source · English source

Sanskrit

अथ राजा समृद्धार्थः सुग्रीवः प्लवगेश्वरः।
उवाच नरशार्दूलं रामं परबलार्दनम्॥ १॥
आगता विनिविष्टाश्च बलिनः कामरूपिणः।
वानरेन्द्रा महेन्द्राभा ये मद्विषयवासिनः॥ २॥
त इमे बहुविक्रान्तैर्बलिभिर्भीमविक्रमैः।
आगता वानरा घोरा दैत्यदानवसंनिभाः॥ ३॥
ख्यातकर्मापदानाश्च बलवन्तो जितक्लमाः।
पराक्रमेषु विख्याता व्यवसायेषु चोत्तमाः॥ ४॥
पृथिव्यम्बुचरा राम नानानगनिवासिनः।
कोट्योघाश्च इमे प्राप्ता वानरास्तव किंकराः॥ ५॥
निदेशवर्तिनः सर्वे सर्वे गुरुहिते स्थिताः।
अभिप्रेतमनुष्ठातुं तव शक्ष्यन्त्यरिंदम॥ ६॥
त इमे बहुसाहस्रैरनीकैर्भीमविक्रमैः।
आगता वानरा घोरा दैत्यदानवसंनिभाः॥ ७॥
यन्मन्यसे नरव्याघ्र प्राप्तकालं तदुच्यताम्।
त्वत्सैन्यं त्वद्वशे युक्तमाज्ञापयितुमर्हसि॥ ८॥
काममेषामिदं कार्यं विदितं मम तत्त्वतः।
तथापि तु यथायुक्तमाज्ञापयितुमर्हसि॥ ९॥
तथा ब्रुवाणं सुग्रीवं रामो दशरथात्मजः।
बाहुभ्यां सम्परिष्वज्य इदं वचनमब्रवीत्॥ १०॥
ज्ञायतां सौम्य वैदेही यदि जीवति वा न वा।
स च देशो महाप्राज्ञ यस्मिन् वसति रावणः॥ ११॥
अधिगम्य तु वैदेहीं निलयं रावणस्य च।
प्राप्तकालं विधास्यामि तस्मिन् काले सह त्वया॥ १२॥
नाहमस्मिन् प्रभुः कार्ये वानरेन्द्र न लक्ष्मणः।
त्वमस्य हेतुः कार्यस्य प्रभुश्च प्लवगेश्वर॥ १३॥
त्वमेवाज्ञापय विभो मम कार्यविनिश्चयम्।
त्वं हि जानासि मे कार्यं मम वीर न संशयः॥ १४॥
सुहृद‍‍्द्वितीयो विक्रान्तः प्राज्ञः कालविशेषवित्।
भवानस्मद्धिते युक्तः सुहृदाप्तोऽर्थवित्तमः॥ १५॥
एवमुक्तस्तु सुग्रीवो विनतं नाम यूथपम्।
अब्रवीद् रामसांनिध्ये लक्ष्मणस्य च धीमतः॥ १६॥
शैलाभं मेघनिर्घोषमूर्जितं प्लवगेश्वरम्।
सोमसूर्यनिभैः सार्धं वानरैर्वानरोत्तम॥ १७॥
देशकालनयैर्युक्तो विज्ञः कार्यविनिश्चये।
वृतः शतसहस्रेण वानराणां तरस्विनाम्॥ १८॥
अधिगच्छ दिशं पूर्वां सशैलवनकाननाम्।
तत्र सीतां च वैदेहीं निलयं रावणस्य च॥ १९॥
मार्गध्वं गिरिदुर्गेषु वनेषु च नदीषु च।
नदीं भागीरथीं रम्यां सरयूं कौशिकीं तथा॥ २०॥
कालिन्दीं यमुनां रम्यां यामुनं च महागिरिम्।
सरस्वतीं च सिन्धुं च शोणं मणिनिभोदकम्॥ २१॥
महीं कालमहीं चापि शैलकाननशोभिताम्।
ब्रह्ममालान् विदेहांश्च मालवान् काशिकोसलान्॥ २२॥
मागधांश्च महाग्रामान् पुण्ड्रांस्त्वङ्गांस्तथैव च।
भूमिं च कोशकाराणां भूमिं च रजताकराम्॥ २३॥
सर्वं च तद् विचेतव्यं मार्गयद्भिस्ततस्ततः।
रामस्य दयितां भार्यां सीतां दशरथस्नुषाम्॥ २४॥
समुद्रमवगाढांश्च पर्वतान् पत्तनानि च।
मन्दरस्य च ये कोटिं संश्रिताः केचिदालयाः॥ २५॥
कर्णप्रावरणाश्चैव तथा चाप्योष्ठकर्णकाः।
घोरलोहमुखाश्चैव जवनाश्चैकपादकाः॥ २६॥
अक्षया बलवन्तश्च तथैव पुरुषादकाः।
किरातास्तीक्ष्णचूडाश्च हेमाभाः प्रियदर्शनाः॥ २७॥
आममीनाशनाश्चापि किराता द्वीपवासिनः।
अन्तर्जलचरा घोरा नरव्याघ्रा इति स्मृताः॥ २८॥
एतेषामाश्रयाः सर्वे विचेयाः काननौकसः।
गिरिभिर्ये च गम्यन्ते प्लवनेन प्लवेन च॥ २९॥
यत्नवन्तो यवद्वीपं सप्तराजोपशोभितम्।
सुवर्णरूप्यकद्वीपं सुवर्णाकरमण्डितम्॥ ३०॥
यवद्वीपमतिक्रम्य शिशिरो नाम पर्वतः।
दिवं स्पृशति शृङ्गेण देवदानवसेवितः॥ ३१॥
एतेषां गिरिदुर्गेषु प्रपातेषु वनेषु च।
मार्गध्वं सहिताः सर्वे रामपत्नीं यशस्विनीम्॥ ३२॥
ततो रक्तजलं प्राप्य शोणाख्यं शीघ्रवाहिनम्।
गत्वा पारं समुद्रस्य सिद्धचारणसेवितम्॥ ३३॥
तस्य तीर्थेषु रम्येषु विचित्रेषु वनेषु च।
रावणः सह वैदेह्या मार्गितव्यस्ततस्ततः॥ ३४॥
पर्वतप्रभवा नद्यः सुभीमबहुनिष्कुटाः।
मार्गितव्या दरीमन्तः पर्वताश्च वनानि च॥ ३५॥
ततः समुद्रद्वीपांश्च सुभीमान् द्रष्टुमर्हथ।
ऊर्मिमन्तं महारौद्रं क्रोशन्तमनिलोद्धतम्॥ ३६॥
तत्रासुरा महाकायाश्छायां गृह्णन्ति नित्यशः।
ब्रह्मणा समनुज्ञाता दीर्घकालं बुभुक्षिताः॥ ३७॥
तं कालमेघप्रतिमं महोरगनिषेवितम्।
अभिगम्य महानादं तीर्थेनैव महोदधिम्॥ ३८॥
ततो रक्तजलं भीमं लोहितं नाम सागरम्।
गत्वा प्रेक्ष्यथ तां चैव बृहतीं कूटशाल्मलीम्॥ ३९॥
गृहं च वैनतेयस्य नानारत्नविभूषितम्।
तत्र कैलाससंकाशं विहितं विश्वकर्मणा॥ ४०॥
तत्र शैलनिभा भीमा मन्देहा नाम राक्षसाः।
शैलशृङ्गेषु लम्बन्ते नानारूपा भयावहाः॥ ४१॥
ते पतन्ति जले नित्यं सूर्यस्योदयनं प्रति।
अभितप्ताः स्म सूर्येण लम्बन्ते स्म पुनः पुनः॥ ४२॥
निहता ब्रह्मतेजोभिरहन्यहनि राक्षसाः।
ततः पाण्डुरमेघाभं क्षीरोदं नाम सागरम्॥ ४३॥
गत्वा द्रक्ष्यथ दुर्धर्षा मुक्ताहारमिवोर्मिभिः।
तस्य मध्ये महान् श्वेतो ऋषभो नाम पर्वतः॥ ४४॥
दिव्यगन्धैः कुसुमितैराचितैश्च नगैर्वृतः।
सरश्च राजतैः पद्मैर्ज्वलितैर्हेमकेसरैः॥ ४५॥
नाम्ना सुदर्शनं नाम राजहंसैः समाकुलम्।
विबुधाश्चारणा यक्षाः किंनराश्चाप्सरोगणाः॥ ४६॥
हृष्टाः समधिगच्छन्ति नलिनीं तां रिरंसवः।
क्षीरोदं समतिक्रम्य तदा द्रक्ष्यथ वानराः॥ ४७॥
जलोदं सागरं शीघ्रं सर्वभूतभयावहम्।
तत्र तत्कोपजं तेजः कृतं हयमुखं महत्॥ ४८॥
अस्याहुस्तन्महावेगमोदनं सचराचरम्।
तत्र विक्रोशतां नादो भूतानां सागरौकसाम्।
श्रूयते चासमर्थानां दृष्ट्वाभूद् वडवामुखम्॥ ४९॥
स्वादूदस्योत्तरे तीरे योजनानि त्रयोदश।
जातरूपशिलो नाम सुमहान् कनकप्रभः॥ ५०॥
तत्र चन्द्रप्रतीकाशं पन्नगं धरणीधरम्।
पद्मपत्रविशालाक्षं ततो द्रक्ष्यथ वानराः॥ ५१॥
आसीनं पर्वतस्याग्रे सर्वदेवनमस्कृतम्।
सहस्रशिरसं देवमनन्तं नीलवाससम्॥ ५२॥
त्रिशिराः काञ्चनः केतुस्तालस्तस्य महात्मनः।
स्थापितः पर्वतस्याग्रे विराजति सवेदिकः॥ ५३॥
पूर्वस्यां दिशि निर्माणं कृतं तत् त्रिदशेश्वरैः।
ततः परं हेममयः श्रीमानुदयपर्वतः॥ ५४॥
तस्य कोटिर्दिवं स्पृष्ट्वा शतयोजनमायता।
जातरूपमयी दिव्या विराजति सवेदिका॥ ५५॥
सालैस्तालैस्तमालैश्च कर्णिकारैश्च पुष्पितैः।
जातरूपमयैर्दिव्यैः शोभते सूर्यसंनिभैः॥ ५६॥
तत्र योजनविस्तारमुच्छ्रितं दशयोजनम्।
शृङ्गं सौमनसं नाम जातरूपमयं ध्रुवम्॥ ५७॥
तत्र पूर्वं पदं कृत्वा पुरा विष्णुस्त्रिविक्रमे।
द्वितीयं शिखरे मेरोश्चकार पुरुषोत्तमः॥ ५८॥
उत्तरेण परिक्रम्य जम्बूद्वीपं दिवाकरः।
दृश्यो भवति भूयिष्ठं शिखरं तन्महोच्छ्रयम्॥ ५९॥
तत्र वैखानसा नाम वालखिल्या महर्षयः।
प्रकाशमाना दृश्यन्ते सूर्यवर्णास्तपस्विनः॥ ६०॥
अयं सुदर्शनो द्वीपः पुरो यस्य प्रकाशते।
तस्मिंस्तेजश्च चक्षुश्च सर्वप्राणभृतामपि॥ ६१॥
शैलस्य तस्य पृष्ठेषु कन्दरेषु वनेषु च।
रावणः सह वैदेह्या मार्गितव्यस्ततस्ततः॥ ६२॥
काञ्चनस्य च शैलस्य सूर्यस्य च महात्मनः।
आविष्टा तेजसा संध्या पूर्वा रक्ता प्रकाशते॥ ६३॥
पूर्वमेतत् कृतं द्वारं पृथिव्या भुवनस्य च।
सूर्यस्योदयनं चैव पूर्वा ह्येषा दिगुच्यते॥ ६४॥
तस्य शैलस्य पृष्ठेषु निर्झरेषु गुहासु च।
रावणः सह वैदेह्या मार्गितव्यस्ततस्ततः॥ ६५॥
ततः परमगम्या स्याद् दिक्पूर्वा त्रिदशावृता।
रहिता चन्द्रसूर्याभ्यामदृश्या तमसावृता॥ ६६॥
शैलेषु तेषु सर्वेषु कन्दरेषु नदीषु च।
ये च नोक्ता मयोद्देशा विचेया तेषु जानकी॥ ६७॥
एतावद् वानरैः शक्यं गन्तुं वानरपुङ्गवाः।
अभास्करममर्यादं न जानीमस्ततः परम्॥ ६८॥
अभिगम्य तु वैदेहीं निलयं रावणस्य च।
मासे पूर्णे निवर्तध्वमुदयं प्राप्य पर्वतम्॥ ६९॥
ऊर्ध्वं मासान्न वस्तव्यं वसन् वध्यो भवेन्मम।
सिद्धार्थाः संनिवर्तध्वमधिगम्य च मैथिलीम्॥ ७०॥
महेन्द्रकान्तां वनषण्डमण्डितां
दिशं चरित्वा निपुणेन वानराः।
अवाप्य सीतां रघुवंशजप्रियां
ततो निवृत्ताः सुखिनो भविष्यथ॥ ७१॥

English Griffith

With practised eye the king reviewed
The Vánars’ countless multitude,
And, joying that his hest was done,
Thus spake to Raghu’s mighty son:
“See, all the Vánar hosts who fear
My sovereign might are gathered here.
Chiefs strong as Indra’s self, who speed
Wher’er they list, these armies lead.
Fierce and terrific to the view
As Daityas or the Dánav⁶⁵⁹ crew,
Famed in all lands for souls afire
With lofty thoughts, they never tire,
O’er hill and vale they wander free,
And islets of the distant sea.
And these gathered myriads, all
Will serve thee, Ráma, at thy call.
Whate’er thy heart advises, say:
Thy mandates will the host obey.”

Then answered Ráma, as he pressed
The Vánar monarch to his breast:
“O search for my lost Sítá, strive
To find her if she still survive:
And in thy wondrous wisdom trace
Fierce Rávaṇ to his dwelling-place.
And when by toil and search we know
Where Sítá lies and where the foe,
With thee, dear friend, will I devise
Fit means to end the enterprise.
Not mine, not Lakshmaṇ’s is the power
To guide us in the doubtful hour.
Thou, sovereign of the Vánars, thou
Must be our hope and leader now.”

He ceased: at King Sugríva’s call
Near came a Vánar strong and tall.
Huge as a towering mountain, loud
As some tremendous thunder cloud,
A prince who warlike legions led:
To him his sovereign turned and said:
“Go, take ten thousand⁶⁶⁰ of our race
Well trained in lore of time and place,
And search the eastern region; through
Groves, woods, and hills thy way pursue.
There seek for Sítá, trace the spot
Where Rávaṇ hides, and weary not.
Search for the captive in the caves
Of mountains, and by woods and waves.
To Sarjú,⁶⁶¹ Kauśikí,⁶⁶² repair,
Bhagírath’s daughter⁶⁶³ fresh and fair.
Search mighty Yamun’s⁶⁶⁴ peak, explore
Swift Yamuná’s⁶⁶⁵ delightful shore,
Sarasvati⁶⁶⁶ and Sindhu’s⁶⁶⁷ tide,
And rapid Śona’s⁶⁶⁸ pebbly side.
Then roam afar by Mahí’s⁶⁶⁹ bed
Where Kálamahí’s groves are spread.
Go where the silken tissue shines,
Go to the land of silver mines.⁶⁷⁰
Visit each isle and mountain steep
And city circled by the deep,
And distant villages that high
About the peaks of Mandar lie.
Speed over Yavadwipa’s land,⁶⁷¹
And see Mount Śiśir⁶⁷² proudly stand
Uplifting to the skies his head
By Gods and Dánavs visited.
Search each ravine and mountain pass,
Each tangled thicket deep in grass.
Search every cave with utmost care
If haply Ráma’s queen be there.
Then pass beyond the sounding sea
Where heavenly beings wander free,
And Śona’s⁶⁷³ waters swift and strong
With ruddy billows foam along.
Search where his shelving banks descend,
Search where the hanging woods extend.
Try if the pathless thickets screen
The robber and the captive queen.
Search where the torrent floods that rend
The mountain to the plains descend:
Search dark abysses where they rave,
Search mountain slope and wood and cave
Then on with rapid feet and gain
The inlands of the fearful main
Where, tortured by the tempest’s lash,
Against rude rocks the billows dash:
An ocean like a sable cloud,
Whose margent monstrous serpents crowd:
An ocean rising with a roar
To beat upon an iron shore.
On, onward still! your feet shall tread
Shores of the sea whose waves are red,
Where spreading wide your eyes shall see
The guilt-tormenting cotton tree⁶⁷⁴
And the wild spot where Garuḍ⁶⁷⁵ dwells
Which gems adorn and ocean shells,
High as Kailása, nobly decked,
Wrought by the heavenly architect.⁶⁷⁶
Huge giants named Mandehas⁶⁷⁷ there
In each foul shape they love to wear,
Numbing the soul with terror’s chill,
Hang from the summit of the hill.
When darts the sun his earliest beam
They plunge them in the ocean stream,
New vigour from his rays obtain,
And hang upon the rocks again.
Speed onward still: your steps shall be
At length beside the Milky Sea
Whose every ripple as it curls
Gleams glorious with its wealth of pearls.
Amid that sea like pale clouds spread
The white Mount Rishabh⁶⁷⁸ rears his head.
About the mountain’s glorious waist
Woods redolent of bloom are braced.
A lake where lotuses unfold
Their silver buds with threads of gold,
Sudarśan ever bright and fair
Where white swans sport, lies gleaming there,
The wandering Kinnar’s⁶⁷⁹ dear resort,
Where heavenly nymphs and Yakshas⁶⁸⁰ sport.
On! leave the Milky Sea behind:
Another flood your search shall find,
A waste of waters, wild and drear,
That chills each living heart with fear.
There see the horse’s awful head,
Wrath-born, that flames in Ocean’s bed.⁶⁸¹
There rises up a fearful cry
From the sea things that move thereby,
When, helpless, powerless for flight,
They gaze upon the horrid sight.
Past to the northern shore, and then
Beyond the flood three leagues and ten
Your wondering glances will behold
Mount Játarúpa⁶⁸² bright with gold.
There like the young moon pale of hue
The monstrous serpent⁶⁸³ will ye view,
The earth’s supporter, whose bright eyes
Resemble lotus leaves in size.
He rests upon the mountain’s brow,
And all the Gods before him bow.
Ananta with a thousand heads
His length in robes of azure spreads.
A triple-headed palm of gold—
Meet standard for the lofty-souled—
Springs towering from the mountain’s crest
Beneath whose shade he loves to rest,
So that in eastern realms each God
May use it as a measuring-rod.
Beyond, with burning gold aglow,
The eastern steep his peaks will show,
Which in unrivalled glory rise
A hundred leagues to pierce the skies,
And all the neighbouring air is bright
With golden trees that clothe the height.
A lofty peak uprises there
Ten leagues in height and one league square
Saumanas, wrought of glistering gold,
Ne’er to be loosened from its hold.
There his first step Lord Vishṇu placed
When through the universe he paced,
And with his second lightly pressed
The loftiest peak of Meru’s crest.
When north of Jambudwíp⁶⁸⁴ the sun
A portion of his course has run,
And hangs above this mountain height,
Then creatures see the genial light.
Vaikhánases,⁶⁸⁵ saints far renowned,
And Bálakhilyas⁶⁸⁶ love the ground
Where in their glory half divine,
Touched by the morning glow, they shine
The light that flashes from that steep
Illumines all Sudarśandwíp,⁶⁸⁷
And on each creature, as it glows,
The sight and strength of life bestows.
Search well that mountain’s woody side
If Rávaṇ there his captive hide.
The rising sun, the golden hill
The air with growing splendours fill,
Till flashes from the east the red
Of morning with the light they shed.
This, where the sun begins his state,
Is earth and heaven’s most eastern gate.
Through all the mountain forest seek
By waterfall and cave and peak.
Search every nook and bosky dell,
If Rávaṇ there with Sítá dwell.
There, Vánars, there your steps must stay:
No farther eastward can ye stray.
Beyond no sun, no moon gives light,
But all is sunk in endless night.
Thus far, O Vánar lords, may you
O’er sea and land your search pursue.
But wild and dark and known to none
Is the drear space beyond the sun.
That mountain whence the sun ascends
Your long and weary journey ends.⁶⁸⁸
Now go, and in a month return,
And let success my praises earn.
He who beyond tho month shall stay
Will with his life the forfeit pay.”

Griffith’s notes (30)

Daityas and Dánavas are fiends and enemies of the Gods, like the Titans of Greek mythology.
I reduce the unwieldy numbers of the original to more modest figures.
Sarayú now Sarjú is the river on which Ayodhyá was built.
Kauśikí is a river which flows through Behar, commonly called Kosi.
Bhagírath’s daughter is Gangá or the Ganges. The legend is told at length in Book I Canto XLIV. The Descent of Gangá.
A mountain not identified.
The Jumna. The river is personified as the twin sister of Yáma, and hence regarded as the daughter of the Sun.
The Sarasvatí (corruptly called Sursooty, is supposed to join the Ganges and Jumna at Prayág or Allahabad. It rises in the mountains bounding the north-east part of the province of Delhi, and running in a south-westerly direction becomes lost in the sands of the great desert.
The Sindhu is the Indus, the Sanskrit s becoming h in Persian and being in this instance dropped by the Greeks.
The Sone which rises in the district of Nagpore and falls into the Ganges above Patna.
Mahí is a river rising in Malwa and falling into the gulf of Cambay after a westerly course of 280 miles.
There is nothing to show what parts of the country the poet intended to denote as silk-producing and silver-producing.
Yavadwipa means the island of Yava, wherever that may be.
Śiśir is said to be a mountain ridge projecting from the base of Meru on the south. Wilson’s Vishnu Puráṇa, ed. Hall, Vol. II. p. 117.
This appears to be some mythical stream and not the well-known Śone. The name means red-coloured.
A fabulous thorny rod of the cotton tree used for torturing the wicked in hell. The tree gives its name, Śálmalí, to one of the seven Dwípas, or great divisions of the known continent: and also to a hell where the wicked are tormented with the pickles of the tree.
The king of the feathered creation.
Viśvakarmá, the Mulciber of the Indian heaven.
“The terrific fiends named Mandehas attempt to devour the sun: for Brahmá denounced this curse upon them, that without the power to perish they should die every day (and revive by night) and therefore a fierce contest occurs (daily) between them and the sun.” WILSON’S Vishṇu Puráṇa. Vol. II. p. 250.
Said in the Vishṇu Puráṇa to be a ridge projecting from the base of Meru to the north.
Kinnars are centaurs reversed, beings with equine head and human bodies.
Yakshas are demi-gods attendant on Kuvera the God of wealth.
Aurva was one of the descendants of Bhrigu. From his wrath proceeded a flame that threatened to destroy the world, had not Aurva cast it into the ocean where it remained concealed, and having the face of a horse. The legend is told in the Mahábhárat. I. 6802.
The word Játarúpa means gold.
The celebrated mythological serpent king Sesha, called also Ananta or the infinite, represented as bearing the earth on one of his thousand heads.
Jambudwípa is in the centre of the seven great dwípas or continents into which the world is divided, and in the centre of Jambudwípa is the golden mountain Meru 84,000 yojans high, and crowned by the great city of Brahmá. See WILSON’S Vishṇu Puráṇa, Vol. II. p. 110.
Vaikhánases are a race of hermit saints said to have sprung from the nails of Prajápati.
“The wife of Kratu, Samnati, brought forth the sixty thousand Válakhilyas, pigmy sages, no bigger than a joint of the thumb, chaste, pious, resplendent as the rays of the Sun.” WILSON’S Vishṇu Puráṇa.
The continent in which Sudarśan or Meru stands, i.e. Jambudwíp.
The names of some historical peoples which occur in this Canto and in the Cantos describing the south and north will be found in the ADDITIONAL NOTES. They are bare lists, not susceptible of a metrical version.