Book Iv. Canto Lviii. Tidings Of Sit'a Canto Lviii: Tidings Of Sit. The piteous tears his eye bedewed As thus his speech the bird renewed; 'Alas my brother, slain in fight By Rvan's unresisted might! I, old and wingless, weak and worn, O'er his sad fate can only mourn. Fled is my youth: in life's decline My former strength no more is mine. Once on the day when Vritra 1 died, We brothers, in ambitious pride, Sought, mounting with adventurous flight, The Day-God garlanded with light. On, ever on we urged our way Where fields of ether round us lay, Till, by the fervent heat assailed, My brother's pinions flagged and failed. I marked his sinking strength, and spread My stronger wings to screen his head, Till, all my feathers burnt away, On Vindhya's hill I fell and lay.There in my lone and helpless state I heard not of my brother's fate.' Thus King Sampti spoke and sighed: And royal Angad thus replied: 'If, brother of Jatyus, thou Hast heard the tale I told but now,Obedient to mine earnest prayer The dwelling of that fiend declare. O, say where cursed Rvan dwells, Whom folly to his death impels.' He ceased. Again Sampti spoke,And hope in every breast awoke: 'Though lost my wings, and strength decayed, Yet shall my words lend Rma aid. I know the worlds where Vishnu trod, 1b I know the realm of Ocean's God; How Asurs fought with heavenly foes, And Amrit from the churning rose. 2b A mighty task before me lies, To prosper Rma's enterprise,A task too hard for one whom length Of days has rifled of his strength.I saw the cruel Rvan bear A gentle lady through the air. Bright washer form, and fresh and young, And sparkling gems about her hung. 'O Rma, Rma!' cried the dame, And shrieked in terror Lakshman's name, As, struggling in the giant's hold, She dropped her gauds of gems and gold.Like sun-light on a mountain shone The silken garments she had on,And glistened o'er his swarthy form As lightning flashes through the storm. That giant Rvan, famed of old, Is brother of the Lord of Gold. 3bThe southern ocean roars and swells Round Lank, where the robber dwellsIn his fair city nobly planned And built by Vis'vakarm's 4b hand. Within his bower securely barred, With monsters round her for a guard,Still in her silken vesture clad Lies Sit, and her heart is sad.A hundred leagues your course must be Beyond this margin of the sea. Still to the south your way pursue, And there the giant Rvan view. Then up, O Vnars, and away! For by my heavenly lore I say, There will you see the lady's face. And hither soon your steps retrace.In the first field of air are borne The doves and birds that feed on corn.The second field supports the crows And birds whose food on branches grows.Along the third in balanced flight Sail the keen osprey and the kite.Swift through the fourth the falcon springs The fifth the slower vulture wings. Up to the sixth the gay swans rise, p. 388 Where royal Vainateya 1 flies. We too, O chiefs, of vulture race, Our line from Vinat may trace, Condemned, because we wrought a deed Of shame, on flesh and blood to feed.But all Suparna's 2 wondrous powers And length of keenest sight are ours,That we a hundred leagues away Through fields of air descry our prey.Now from this spot my gazing eye Can Rvan and the dame descry.Devise some plan to overleap This barrier of the briny deep. Find the Videhan lady there, And joyous to your home repair. Me too, O Vnars. to the side Of Varun's 3 home the ocean, guide,Where due libations shall be paid To my great-hearted brother's shade.'Footnotes 387:1 Vritra, 'the coverer, hider, obstructer (of rain) ' is the name of the Vedic personification of an imaginary malignant influence or demon of darkness and drought supposed to take possession of the clouds, causing them to obstruct the clearness of the sky and keep back the waters. Indra is represented as battling with this evil influence, and the pent-up clouds being practically represented as mountains or castles are shattered by his thunderbolt and made to open their receptacle. 387: 1b Frequent mention has been made of the three steps of Vishnu typifying the rising, culmination, and setting of the sun. 387: 2b For the "Churning of the Sea ", see Book I, Canto Xlv. 387: 3b Kuvera, the God of Wealth. 387: 4b The Architect of the Gods.
umma theologica ii | umma theologica ii