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Book Iv. Canto Xxvi. The Coronation

Canto Xxvi.: The Coronation.


Each Vnar councillor and peer

In crowded numbers gathered near

Sugriva, mournful king, while yet

His vesture from the wave was wet,

Before the chief of Raghu's seed

Unwearied in each arduous deed,

They stood and raised the reverent hand

As saints before Lord Brahm stand,

Then Hanumn of massive mould,

Like some tall hill of glistering gold,

Son of the God whose wild blasts shake

The forest, thus to Rma spake:

'By thy kind favour, O my lord,

Sugrva, to his home restored

Triumphant, has regained to-day

His rank and power and royal sway.

He now will call each faithful friend,

Enter the city, and attend

With sage advice and prudent care

To every task that waits him there.

Then balm and unguent shall anoint

Our monarch, as the laws appoint,

And gems and precious wreaths shall be

His grateful offering, King, to thee.

Do thou, O Rma, with thy friend

Thy steps within the city bend;

Our ruler on his throne install,

And with thy presence cheer us all.'

Then, skilled in lore and arts that guide

The speaker, Raghu's son replied:

'For fourteen years I might not break

The mandate that my father spake;

Nor can I, till that time be fled,

The street of town or village tread.

Let King Sugrva seek the town

Most worthy of her high renown,

There let him be without delay

Anointed, and begin his sway.

This answered, to Sugrva then

Thus spake anew the king of men:

'Do thou who knowest right ordain

Prince Angad consort of thy reign;

For he is noble, true, and bold,

And trained a righteous course to hold

Gifts like his sire's thait youth adorn

Born eldest to the eldest born.

p. 356

This is the month of Srvana 1first

Of those that see the rain-clouds burst.

Four months, thou knowest well, extends

The season when the rain descends.

No time for deeds of war is this.

Seek thou thy fair metropolis,

And I with Lakshman, O my friend,

The time upon this hill will spend.

An ample cavern opens there

Made lovely by the mountain air,

And lotuses and lilies fill

The pleasant lake and murmuring rill.

When Krtik's 2 month shall clear the skies,

Then tempt the mighty enterprise.

Now, chieftain to thy home repair,

And be anointed sovereign there.'

Sugrva heard: he bowed his head:

Within the lovely town he sped

Which Bali's royal will had swayed,

Where thousand Vnar chiefs arrayed

Gathered in order round their king,

And led him on with welcoming.

Low on the earth the lesser crowd

Fell in prostration as they bowed.

Sugrva looked with grateful eyes,

Spake to them all and bade them rise.

Then through the royal bowers he strode

Wherein the monarch's wives abode.

Soon from the inner chambers came

The Vnar of exalted fame;

And joyful friends drew near and shed

King-making balm upon his head,

Like Gods anointing in the skies

Their sovereign of the thousand eyes. 3

Then brought they, o'er their king to hold

The white umbrella decked with gold,

And chouries with their waving hair

In golden handles wondrous fair;

And fragrant herbs and seed and spice,

And sparkling gems exceeding price,

And every bloom from woods and leas,

And gum distilled from milky trees;

And precious ointment white as milk,

And spotless robes of cloth and silk,

Wreaths of sweet flowers whose glories gleam

In grassy grove, on lake or stream.

And fragrant sandal and each scent

That makes the soft breeze redolent;

Grain, honey, odorous seed, and store

Of oil and curd and golden ore;

A noble tiger's skin, a pair

Of sandals wrought with costliest care,

Eight pairs of damsels drawing nigh

Brought unguents stained with varied dye.

Then gems and cates and robes displayed

Before the twice-born priests were laid,

That they would deign in order due

To consecrate the king anew.

The sacred grass was duly spread

And sacrificial flame was fed,

Which Scripture-learned priests supplied

With oil which texts had sanctified.

Then, with all rites ordained of old,

High on the terrace bright with gold,

Whereon a glorious carpet lay,

And fresh-culled garlands sweet and gay,

Placed on his throne, Sugrva bent

His looks toward the Orient.

In horns from forehead of the bull.

In pitchers bright and beautiful,

In urns of gold the Vnara took

Pure water brought from stream and brook,

From every consecrated strand

And every sea that beats the land.

Then, as prescribed by sacred lore

And many a mighty sage of yore, 1b

The leaders of the Vnars poured

The sacred water on their lord. 2b

From every Vnar at the close

Of that imperial rite arose

Shouts of glad triumph, loud and long

Repeated by the high-souled throng.

Sugrva, when the rite was done,

Obeyed the hest of Raghu's son.

Prince Angad to his breast he strained.

And partner of his sway ordained.

Once more from all the host rang out

The loud huzza and jovful shout.

'Well done! well done!' each Vnar cried.

And good Sugrva glorified.

p. 357

Then with glad voices loudly raised

Were Rma and his brother praised;

And bright Kishkindha shone that day

With happy throngs and banners gay.

Footnotes

356:1 S
'rvan: July-August. But the rains begin a month earlier, and what follows must not be taken literally. The text has prvo' yam vrshiko msah S'rvanah ###. The Bengal recension has the same, and Gorresio translates: ' Equesto il mese S'rvana (Inglio-agosto) primo della stagione plovosa, in cui diligano le acque.'

356:2
Krtik: Ootober-November.

356:3
\"Indras, as the nocturnal sun, hides himself, transformed, in the starry heavens: the stars are his eyes. The hundred- eyed or all-seeing (panopts) Argos placed as a spy over the actions of the cow beloved by Zeus, in the Hellenic equivalent of this form of Indras." De Gubernatis,
\"Zoological Mythology", Vol. I, p. 418.

356:
1b Baudhyana and others.

356:
2b Sugrva appears to hare been consecrated with all the ceremonies that attended the "Abhisheka" or coronation of an Indian prince of the Aryan race. Compare the preparations made for Rama's consecration, Book II. Canto III. Thus Homer frequently introduces into Troy the rites of Hellenic worship.
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