On the great chief their eyes they bent

  In rapture and astonishment,

  As, when his conquering foot he raised,

  The Gods upon Náráyaṇ785 gazed.

  He stood amid the joyous crowd,

  Bent to the chiefs, and cried aloud:

  “The Wind-God, Fire’s eternal friend,

  Whose blasts the mountain summits rend,

  With boundless force that none may stay,

  Takes where he lists his viewless way.

  Sprung from that glorious father, I

  In power and speed with him may vie,

  A thousand times with airy leap

  Can circle loftiest Meru’s steep:

  With my fierce arms can stir the sea

  Till from their bed the waters flee

  And rush at my command to drown

  This land with grove and tower and town.

  I through the fields of air can spring

  Far swifter than the feathered King,

  And leap before him as he flies,

  On sounding pinions through the skies.

  I can pursue the Lord of Light

  Uprising from the eastern height,

  And reach him ere his course be sped

  With burning beams engarlanded.

  I will dry up the mighty main,

  Shatter the rocks and rend the plain.

  O’er earth and ocean will I bound,

  And every flower that grows on ground,

  And bloom of climbing plants shall show

  Strewn on the ground, the way I go,

  Bright as the lustrous path that lies

  Athwart the region of the skies.786

  The Maithil lady will I find, —

  Thus speaks mine own prophetic mind, —

  And cast in hideous ruin down

  The shattered walls of Lanká’s town.”

  Still on the chief in rapt surprise

  The Vánar legions bent their eyes,

  And thus again sage Jámbaván

  Addressed the glorious Hanumán:

  “Son of the Wind, thy promise cheers

  The Vánars’ hearts, and calms their fears,

  Who, rescued from their dire distress,

  With prospering vows thy way will bless.

  The holy saints their favour lend,

  And all our chiefs the deed commend

  Urging thee forward on thy way:

  Arise then, and the task assay.

  Thou art our only refuge; we,

  Our lives and all, depend on thee.”

  Then sprang the Wind-God’s son the best

  Of Vánars, on Mahendra’s crest,

  And the great mountain rocked and swayed

  By that unusual weight dismayed,

  As reels an elephant beneath

  The lion’s spring and rending teeth.

  The shady wood that crowned him shook,

  The trembling birds the boughs forsook,

  And ape and pard and lion fled

  From brake and lair disquieted.

  BOOK V.787

  Canto I. Hanumán’s Leap.

  THUS RÁVAṆ’S FOE resolved to trace

  The captive to her hiding-place

  Through airy pathways overhead

  Which heavenly minstrels visited.

  With straining nerve and eager brows,

  Like some strong husband of the cows,

  In ready might he stood prepared

  For the bold task his soul has dared.

  O’er gem-like grass that flashed and glowed

  The Vánar like a lion strode.

  Roused by the thunder of his tread,

  The beasts to shady coverts fled.

  Tall trees he crushed or hurled aside,

  And every bird was terrified.

  Around him loveliest lilies grew,

  Pale pink, and red, and white, and blue,

  And tints of many a metal lent

  The light of varied ornament.

  Gandharvas, changing forms at will,

  And Yakshas roamed the lovely hill,

  And countless Serpent-Gods were seen

  Where flowers and grass were fresh and green.

  As some resplendent serpent takes

  His pastime in the best of lakes,

  So on the mountain’s woody height

  The Vánar wandered with delight.

  Then, standing on the flowery sod,

  He paid his vows to saint and God.

  Svayambhu788 and the Sun he prayed,

  And the swift Wind to lend him aid,

  And Indra, sovereign of the skies,

  To bless his hardy enterprise.

  Then once again the chief addressed

  The Vánars from the mountain crest:

  “Swift as a shaft from Ráma’s bow

  To Rávaṇ’s city will I go,

  And if she be not there will fly

  And seek the lady in the sky;

  Or, if in heaven she be not found,

  Will hither bring the giant bound.”

  He ceased; and mustering his might

  Sprang downward from the mountain height,

  While, shattered by each mighty limb,

  The trees unrooted followed him.

  The shadow on the ocean cast

  By his vast form, as on he passed,

  Flew like a ship before the gale

  When the strong breeze has filled the sail,

  And where his course the Vánar held

  The sea beneath him raged and swelled.

  Then Gods and all the heavenly train

  Poured flowerets down in gentle rain;

  Their voices glad Gandharvas raised,

  And saints in heaven the Vánar praised.

  Fain would the Sea his succour lend

  And Raghu’s noble son befriend.

  He, moved by zeal for Ráma’s sake,

  The hill Maináka789 thus bespake:

  “O strong Maináka, heaven’s decree

  In days of old appointed thee

  To be the Asurs bar, and keep

  The rebels in the lowest deep.

  Thou guardest those whom heaven has cursed

  Lest from their prison-house they burst,

  And standest by the gates of hell

  Their limitary sentinel.

  To thee is given the power to spread

  Or spring above thy watery bed.

  Now, best of noble mountains, rise

  And do the thing that I advise.

  E’en now above thy buried crest

  Flies mighty Hanumán, the best

  Of Vánars, moved for Ráma’s sake

  A wonderous deed to undertake.

  Lift up thy head that he may stay

  And rest him on his weary way.”

  He heard, and from his watery shroud,

  As bursts the sun from autumn cloud,

  Rose swifty, crowned with plant and tree,

  And stood above the foamy sea.790

  There with his lofty peaks upraised

  Bright as a hundred suns he blazed,

  And crest and crag of burnished gold

  Flashed on the flood that round him rolled.

  The Vánar thought the mountain rose

  A hostile bar to interpose,

  And, like a wind-swept cloud, o’erthrew

  The glittering mountain as he flew.

  Then from the falling hill rang out

  A warning voice and joyful shout.

  Again he raised him high in air

  To meet the flying Vánar there,

  And standing on his topmost peak

  In human form began to speak:791

  “Best of the Vánars’ noblest line,

  A mighty task, O chief, is thine.

  Here for a while, I pray thee, light

  And rest upon the breezy height.

  A prince of Raghu’s line was he

  Who gave his glory to the Sea,792

  Who now to Ráma’s envoy shows

  High honour for the debt he owes.

  He bade me lift my buried head

  Uprising from my watery bed,

  And woo the Vánar chief to rest

  A moment on my glittering crest.

  Refresh thy weary limbs, and eat

  My mountain fruits for they are sweet.

  I too, O chieftain, know thee well;

  Three worlds thy famous virtues tell;

  And none, I ween, with thee may vie

  Who spring impetuous through the sky.

  To every guest, though mean and low.

  The wise respect and honour show;

  And how shall I neglect thee, how

  Slight the great guest so near me now?

  Son of the Wind, ’tis thine to share

  The might of him who shakes the air;

  And, — for he loves his offspring, — he

  Is honoured when I honour thee.

  Of yore, when Krita’s age793 was new,

  The little hills and mountains flew

  Where’er they listed, borne on wings

  More rapid than the feathered king’s.794

  But mighty terror came on all

  The Gods and saints who feared their fall.

  And Indra in his anger rent

  Their pinions with the bolts he sent.

  When in his ruthless fury he

  Levelled his flashing bolt at me,

  The great-souled Wind inclined to save,

  And laid me neath the ocean’s wave.

  Thus by the favour of the sire

  I kept my cherished wings entire;

  And for this deed of kindness done

  I honour thee his noble son.

  O come, thy weary limbs relieve,

  And honour due from me receive.”

  “I may not rest,” the Vánar cried;

  “I must not stay or turn aside.

  Yet pleased am I, thou noblest hill,

  And as the deed accept thy will.”

  Thus as he spoke he lightly pressed

  With his broad hand the mountain’s crest,

  Then bounded upward to the height

  Of heaven, rejoicing in his might,

  And through the fields of boundless blue,

  The pathway of his father, flew.

  Gods, saints, and heavenly bards beheld

  That flight that none had paralleled,

  Then to the Nágas’ mother795 came

  And thus addressed the sun-bright dame:

  “See, Hanumán with venturous leap

  Would spring across the mighty deep, —

  A Vánar prince, the Wind-God’s seed:

  Come, Surasá, his course impede.

  In Rákshas form thy shape disguise,

  Terrific, like a hill in size:

  Let thy red eyes with fury glow,

  And high as heaven thy body grow.

  With fearful tusks the chief defy,

  That we his power and strength may try.

  He will with guile thy hold elude,

  Or own thy might, by thee subdued.”

  Pleased with the grateful honours paid,

  The godlike dame their words obeyed,

  Clad in a shape of terror she

  Sprang from the middle of the sea,

  And, with fierce accents that appalled

  All creatures, to the Vánar called:

  “Come, prince of Vánars, doomed to be

  My food this day by heaven’s decree.

  Such boon from ages long ago

  To Brahmá’s favouring will I owe.”

  She ceased, and Hanumán replied,

  By shape and threat unterrified:

  “Brave Ráma with his Maithil spouse

  Lodged in the shade of Daṇḍak’s boughs,

  Thence Rávan king of giants stole

  Sítá the joy of Ráma’s soul.

  By Ráma’s high behest to her

  I go a willing messenger;

  And never shouldst them hinder one

  Who toils for Daśaratha’s son.

  First captive Sítá will I see,

  And him who sent and waits for me,

  Then come and to thy will submit,

  Yea, by my truth I promise it.”

  “Nay, hope not thus thy life to save;

  Not such the boon that Brahmá gave.

  Enter my mouth,” was her reply,

  “Then forward on thy journey hie!”796

  “Stretch, wider stretch thy jaws,” exclaimed

  The Vánar chief, to ire inflamed;

  And, as the Rákshas near him drew,

  Ten leagues in height his stature grew.

  Then straight, her threatening jaws between,

  A gulf of twenty leagues was seen.

  To fifty leagues he waxed, and still

  Her mouth grew wider at her will.

  Then smaller than a thumb became,

  Shrunk by his power, the Vánar’s frame.797

  He leaped within, and turning round

  Sprang through the portal at a bound.

  Then hung in air a moment, while

  He thus addressed her with a smile:

  “O Daksha’s child,798 farewell at last!

  For I within thy mouth have passed.

  Thou hast the gift of Brahmá’s grace:

  I go, the Maithil queen to trace.”

  Then, to her former shape restored,

  She thus addressed the Vánar lord:

  “Then forward to the task, and may

  Success and joy attend thy way!

  Go, and the rescued lady bring

  In triumph to her lord and king.”

  Then hosts of spirits as they gazed

  The daring of the Vánar praised.

  Through the broad fields of ether, fast

  Garuḍ’s royal self, he passed,

  The region of the cloud and rain,

  Loved by the gay Gandharva train,

  Where mid the birds that came and went

  Shone Indra’s glorious bow unbent,

  And like a host of wandering stars

  Flashed the high Gods’ celestial cars.

  Fierce Sinhiká799 who joyed in ill

  And changed her form to work her will,

  Descried him on his airy way

  And marked the Vánar for her prey.

  “This day at length,” the demon cried,

  “My hunger shall be satisfied,”

  And at his passing shadow caught

  Delighted with the cheering thought.

  The Vánar felt the power that stayed

  And held him as she grasped his shade,

  Like some tall ship upon the main

  That struggles with the wind in vain.

  Below, above, his eye he bent

  And scanned the sea and firmament.

  High from the briny deep upreared

  The monster’s hideous form appeared,

  “Sugríva’s tale,” he cried, “is true:

  This is the demon dire to view

  Of whom the Vánar monarch told,

  Whose grasp a passing shade can hold.”

  Then, as a cloud in rain-time grows

  His form, dilating, swelled and rose.

  Wide as the space from heaven to hell

  Her jaws she opened with a yell,

  And rushed upon her fancied prey

  With cloud-like roar to seize and slay.

  The Vánar swift as thought compressed

  His borrowed bulk of limb and chest,

  And stood with one quick bound inside

  The monstrous mouth she opened wide.

  Hid like the moon when Ráhu draws

  The orb within his ravening jaws.

  Within that ample cavern pent

  The demon’s form he tore and rent,

  And, from the mangled carcass freed,

  Came forth again with thought-like speed.800

  Thus with his skill the fiend he slew,

  Then to his wonted stature grew.

  The spirits saw the demon die

  And hailed the Vánar from the sky:

  “Well hast thou fought a wondrous fight

  Nor spared the fiend’s terrific might,

  On, on! perform the blameless deed,

  And in thine every wish succeed.

  Ne’er can they fail in whom combine

  Such valour, thought, and skill as thine.”

  Pleased with their praises as they sang,

  Again through fields of air he sprang,

  And now, his travail wellnigh done,

  The distant shore was almost won.

  Before him on the margent stood

  In long dark line a waving wood,

  And the fair island, bright and green

  With flowers and trees, was clearly seen,

  And every babbling brook that gave

  Her lord the sea a tribute wave.

  He lighted down on Lamba’s peak

  Which tinted metals stain and streak,

  And looked where Lanká’s splendid town

  Shone on the mountain like a crown.

  Canto II. Lanká.

  THE GLORIOUS SIGHT a while he viewed,

  Then to the town his way pursued.

  Around the Vánar as he went

  Breathed from the wood delicious scent,

  And the soft grass beneath his feet

  With gem-like flowers was bright and sweet.

  Still as the Vánar nearer drew

  More clearly rose the town to view.

  The palm her fan-like leaves displayed,

  Priyálas801 lent their pleasant shade,

  And mid the lower greenery far

  Conspicuous rose the Kovidár.802

  A thousand trees mid flowers that glowed

  Hung down their fruit’s delicious load,803

  And in their crests that rocked and swayed

  Sweet birds delightful music made.

  And there were pleasant pools whereon

  The glories of the lotus shone;

  And gleams of sparkling fountains, stirred

  By many a joyous water-bird.

  Around, in lovely gardens grew

  Blooms sweet of scent and bright of hue,

  And Lanká, seat of Rávaṇ’s sway,

  Before the wondering Vánar lay:

  With stately domes and turrets tall,

  Encircled by a golden wall,

  And moats whose waters were aglow

  With lily blossoms bright below:

  For Sítá’s sake defended well

  With bolt and bar and sentinel,

  And Rákshases who roamed in bands

  With ready bows in eager hands.

  He saw the stately mansions rise

  Like pale-hued clouds in autumn skies;

  Where noble streets were broad and bright,

  And banners waved on every height.

  Her gates were glorious to behold

  Rich with the shine of burnished gold:

 

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