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Book Vi. Canto Lx. Kumbhakarna Roused

Canto Lx.: Kumbhakarna Roused.


With humbled heart and broken pride

Through Lank's gate the giant hied,

Crushed, like an elephant beneath

A lion's spring and murderous teeth,

Or like a serpent 'neath the wing

And talons of the Feathered King.

Such was the giant's wild alarm

At arrows shot by Rma's arm;

Shafts with red lightning round them curled,

Like Brahm's bolts that end the world.

Supported on his golden throne,

With failing eye and humbled tone,

'Giants,' he cried,' the toil is vain,

Fruitless the penance and the pain,

If I whom Indra owned his peer,

Secure from Gods, a mortal fear.

My soul remembers, now too late,

Lord Brahm's words who spoke my fate:

'Tremble, proud Giant,' thus they ran,

'And dread thy death from slighted man.

Secure from Gods and demons live,

And serpents, by the boon I give.

Against their power thy life is charmed,

But against man is still unarmed.'

This Rma is the man foretold

By Anarama's* 1 lips of old:

Fear, Rvan, basest of the base:

For of mine own imperial race

A prince in after time shall spring

And thee and thine to ruin bring.

And Vedavati, 2 ere she died

Slain by my ruthless insult, cried:

p. 471

'A scion of my royal line

Shall slay, vile wretch, both thee and thine.'

She in a later birth became

King Janak's child, now Rma's dame.

Nands'vara 1 foretold this fate,

And Um 2 when I moved her hate,

And Rambh, 3 and the lovely child

Of Varun 4 by my touch defiled.

I know the fated hour is nigh:

Hence, captains, to your stations fly.

Let warders on the rampart stand:

Place at each gate a watchful band;

And, terror of immortal eyes,

Let mightiest Kumbhakarnna rise.

He, slumbering, free from care and pain,

By Brahm's curse, for months has lain.

But when Prahasta's death he hears,

Mine own defeat and doubts and fears,

The chief will rise to smite the foe

And his unrivalled valour show.

Then Raghu's royal sons and all

The Vnars neath his might will fall.'

The giant lords his hest obeyed,

They left him, trembling and afraid,

And from the royal palace strode

To Kumbhakarna's vast abode.

They carried garlands sweet and fresh,

And reeking loads of blood and flesh.

They reached the dwelling where he lay,

A cave that reached a league each way,

Sweet with fair blooms of lovely scent

And bright with golden ornament.

His breathings came to fierce and fast,

Scarce could the giants brook the blast.

They found him on a golden bed

With his huge limbs at length outspread.

They piled their heaps of venison near,

Fat buffaloes and boars and deer.

With wreaths of flowers they fanned his face,

And incense sweetened all the place.

Each raised his mighty voice as loud

As thunders of an angry cloud,

And conches their stirring summons gave

That echoed through the giant's cave.

Then on his breast they rained their blows.

And high the wild commotion rose

When cymbal vied with drum and horn.

And war cries on the gale upborne

Through all the air loud discord spread,

And, struck with fear, the birds fell dead.

But still he slept and took his rest.

Then dashed they on his shaggy chest

Clubs, maces, fragments of the rock:

He moved not once, nor felt the shock.

The giants made one effort more

With shell and drum and shout and roar.

Club, mallet, mace, in fury plied,

Rained blows upon his breast and side.

And elephants were urged to aid,

And camels groaned and horses neighed.

They drenched him with a hundred pails,

They tore his ears with teeth and nails.

They bound together many a mace

And beat him on the head and face;

And elephants with ponderous tread

Stamped on his limbs and chest and head.

The unusual weight his slumber broke:

He started, shook his sides, and woke;

And, heedless of the wounds and blows,

Yawning with thirst and hunger rose,

His jaws like hell gaped fierce and wide,

Dire as the flame neath ocean's tide.

Red as the sun on Meru's crest

The giant's face his wrath expressed,

And every burning breath he drew

Was like the blast that rushes through

The mountain cedars. Up he raised

His awful head with eyes that blazed

Like comets, dire as Death in form

Who threats the worlds with fire and stcrm.

The giants pointed to their stores

Of buffaloes and deer and boars,

And straight he gorged him with a flood

Of wine, with marrow, flesh, and blood.

He ceased: the giants ventured near

And bent their lowly heads in fear.

Then Kumbhakarna glared with eyes

Still heavy in their first surprise,

Still drowsy from his troubled rest,

And thus the giant band addressed.

'How have ye dared my sleep to break?

No trifling cause should bid me wake.

Say, is all well? or tell the need

That drives you with unruly speed

To wake me. Mark the words I say,

The king shall tremble in dismay,

p. 472

Of Vishn'u, he was firm in heart.

The Wind-God's son the fight beheld,

And rushed at Rvan, rage-impelled.

Down crashed his mighty hand the foe

Full in the chest received the blow.

His eyes grew dim, his knees gave way.

And senseless on the earth he lay.

The Wind-God's son to Rma bore

Deep-wounded Lakshman stained with gore.

He whom no foe might lift or bend

Was light as air to such a friend.

The dart that Lakshman's side had cleft,

Untouched, the hero's body left,

And flashing through the air afar

Resumed its place in Rvan's car;

And, waxing well though wounded sore,

He felt the deadly pain no more.

And Rvan, though with deep wounds pained,

Slowly his sense and strength regained,

And furious still and undismayed

On bow and shaft his hand he laid.

Then Hanumn to Rma cried:

'Ascend my back, great chief, and ride

Like Vishnu borne on Garud's wing,

To battle with the giant king.'

So, burning for the dire attack,

Rode Rma on the Vnar's back,

And with fierce accents loud and slow

Thus gave defiance to the foe,

While his strained bowstring made a sound

Like thunder when it shakes the ground:

'Stay, Monarch of the giants, stay,

The penalty of sin to pay.

Stay; whither wilt thou fly, and how

Escape the death that waits thee now?'

No word the giant king returned:

His eyes with flames of fury burned.

His arm was stretched, his bow was bent,

And swift his fiery shafts were sent.

Red torrents from the Vnar flowed:

Then Rma near to Rvan' strode,

And, with keen darts that never failed,

The chariot of the king assailed.

With surest aim his arrows flew:

The driver and the steeds he slew,

And shattered with the pointed steel

Car, flag and pole and yoke and wheel.

As Indra hurls his bolt to smite

Mount Meru's heaven-ascending height,

So Rma with a flaming dart

Struck Lank's monarch near the heart,

Who reeled and fell beneath the blow

And from loose fingers dropped his bow.

Bright as the sun, with crescent head,

From Rma's bow an arrow sped,

And from his forehead, proud no more,

Cleft the bright coronet he wore.

Then Rma stood by Rvan's side

And to the conquered giant cried:

'Well hast thou fought: thine arm has slain

Strong heroes of the Vnar train.

I will not strike or slay thee now,

For weary, faint with fight art thou.

To Lank's town thy footsteps bend,

And there the night securely spend.

To-morrow come with car and bow,

And then my prowess shall thou know.'

He ceased: the king in humbled pride

Rose from the earth and naught replied.

With wounded limbs and shattered crown

He sought again his royal town.

Footnotes

470:1
An ancient king of Ayodhy said by some to have been Prithu's father.

470:2
The daughter of King Kus'adhwaja.
She became an ascetic, and being insulted by Rvan in the woods where she was p. 471 performing penance, destroyed herself by entering fire, but was born again as Sit to be in turn the destruction of him who had insulted her.

471:1
Nands'vara was S'iva's chief attendant.
Rvan had despised and laughed at him for appearing in the form of a monkey and the irritated Nands'vara cursed him and foretold his destruction by monkeys.

471:2
Rvan once upheaved and shook Mount Kailsa the favourite dwelling place of S'iva the consort of Um, and was cursed in consequence by the offended Goddess.

471:3
Rambh, who has several times been mentioned in the course of the poem, was one of the nymphs of heaven, and had been insulted by Rvan.

471:4
Punjikasthal was the daughter of Varun. Rvan himself has mentioned in this book his insult to her, and the curse pronounced in consequeuce by Brahm.
appho some there are who say that the fairest thing seen| four poems of sappho
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