Book Vi. Canto Cxxviii. Hanum'an's Story
Canto Cxxviii.: Hanumn'S Story.
'In doubt and fear long years have passed
And glorious tidings come at last.
True, true is now the ancient verse
Which men in time of bliss rehearse:
Once only in a hundred years
Great joy to mortal men appears.
But now his woes and triumph tell,
And loss and gain as each befell.'
He ceased: Hanumn mighty-souled
The tale of Rma's wanderings told
From that first day on which he stood
In the drear shade of Dandak wood.
He told how fierce Virdha fell;
He told of S'arabhanga's cell
Where Rma saw with wondering eyes
Indra descended from the skies.
He told how Srpanukhi came,
Her soul aglow with amorous flame,
And fled repulsed, with rage and tears,
Reft of her nose and severed ears.
He told how Rma's might subdued
The giants' furious multitude;
How Khara with the troops he led
And Tris'iras and Dshan bled:
How Rma, tempted from his cot,
The golden deer pursued and shot,
And Rvan came and stole away
The Maithil queen his hapless prey,
When, as he fought, the dame to save,
His noble life Jatyus gave:
How Rma still the the search renewed,
The robber to his hold pursued,
Bridging the sea from shore to shore,
And found his queen to part no more. 1
p. 505
Footnotes
504:1 I have abridged Hanuman's outline of Rma's adventures, with the details of which we are already sufficiently acquainted.
'In doubt and fear long years have passed
And glorious tidings come at last.
True, true is now the ancient verse
Which men in time of bliss rehearse:
Once only in a hundred years
Great joy to mortal men appears.
But now his woes and triumph tell,
And loss and gain as each befell.'
He ceased: Hanumn mighty-souled
The tale of Rma's wanderings told
From that first day on which he stood
In the drear shade of Dandak wood.
He told how fierce Virdha fell;
He told of S'arabhanga's cell
Where Rma saw with wondering eyes
Indra descended from the skies.
He told how Srpanukhi came,
Her soul aglow with amorous flame,
And fled repulsed, with rage and tears,
Reft of her nose and severed ears.
He told how Rma's might subdued
The giants' furious multitude;
How Khara with the troops he led
And Tris'iras and Dshan bled:
How Rma, tempted from his cot,
The golden deer pursued and shot,
And Rvan came and stole away
The Maithil queen his hapless prey,
When, as he fought, the dame to save,
His noble life Jatyus gave:
How Rma still the the search renewed,
The robber to his hold pursued,
Bridging the sea from shore to shore,
And found his queen to part no more. 1
p. 505
Footnotes
504:1 I have abridged Hanuman's outline of Rma's adventures, with the details of which we are already sufficiently acquainted.
