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Collection: Part 10 · VIDEHA MITHILA MAITHILI DISCUSSION CRITICISM SERIES PART 10
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Detected language: en (0.958886)
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0:02–0:05प्रोलोग अछि।
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0:27–0:32around. Enter an actor.
0:32–0:37Now, without further delay, I must make an announcement before this discerning assembly
0:37–0:43gathered for the festival of Lord Kalapriya. You have surely heard of a certain Bhavabhuti,
0:43–0:49a learned Brahmin of the Kasyapa lineage who bears the title Srikantha. The Goddess of
0:49–0:57Speech obeys this Brahmin's command. As readily. As she obeys the command of Brahma.
0:57–1:04He has composed this play, Rama's Last Act, which we shall perform before you today.
1:04–1:10In obedience to the poet, I shall now assume the identity of a citizen of Ayyagaya in that
1:10–1:12age.
1:12–1:14Is anyone there?
1:14–1:16How strange.
1:16–1:20Why have the musicians fallen silent in the courtyards?
1:20–1:25At the coronation of our great and honoured King Rama, the wildfire that consumed the
1:25–1:31race of Pulasthia, joyous music continued day and night without a moment's pause.
1:31–1:38Prologue. Actor, my friend, the king has sent home the mighty allies who fought beside him in Lanka,
1:38–1:45the monkeys and the Rakshasas. The Brahmins and gods who came to honour him have also departed,
1:45–1:51sanctifying every region through which they passed. Festivities continued for so many days while
1:51–2:00these guests were entertained. And now Rama's royal mothers had gone under Vasishtha's protection,
2:01–2:06following Orandhati to their son-in-law's hermitage. For a sacred rite,
2:08–2:13tell me, I am not a native of this country, so I ask, who is this son-in-law?
2:13–2:23King Dasharata had a daughter named Shanta, whom he gave in adoption to King Lomapada.
2:23–2:30She married Risheshringa, the son of Vibandaka, and he has now begun a sacrifice that will
2:30–2:33continue for twelve years.
2:33–2:38The elders have gone to visit him in his honor, but they have left their daughter in Lord
2:38–2:44Here, though her pregnancy is already far advanced.
2:44–2:46Stage manager, no matter.
2:46–2:52Come, in keeping with our station, we must present ourselves at the palace gate.
2:52–2:53Prologue.
2:53–3:00Actor, then, my friend, you must compose a royal panagiric whose style is beyond reproach.
3:00–3:02My dear friend.
3:02–3:07Whatever the circumstances, it is my duty to perform.
3:07–3:17There is no escape from slander. A statement, or a woman, however pure, will still be faulted by the wicked.
3:17–3:23You should say, by those worse than wicked. Four people are maligning quain.
3:23–3:31Vaidehi herself. Why? Because she lived in a Rakshasa's house, and because they doubt the ordeal by fire.
3:31–3:36If this rumour reaches the king's ears, the consequences will be terrible.
3:36–3:40Duns.
3:40–3:43Listens.
3:43–3:46Accent both.
3:46–3:49Whatever happens, the sages and the gods will protect her.
3:49–3:51Is anyone there?
3:51–3:52Where is the king now?
3:52–3:58I hear people saying, Prologue, Janaka came out of deep affection to pay his respects,
3:58–4:02spent several days at the celebration and has now returned to Vidaeha.
4:02–4:08The queen is distressed by his departure. Therefore, to console her, the king has left
4:08–4:15the throne of justice and gone to his private apartments. End of the prologue.
4:15–4:27At rise, Rama is seated with Sita beside him. Enter the chamberlain. He stops, then speaks
4:27–4:38with formal concern. Rama, Queen Vaidehi, please do not grieve. It was not easy for the elders
4:38–4:50to leave us. But the unbroken burden of daily sacred rites sets limits on human freedom.
4:50–4:58For those devoted to religion, domestic life is full of obligations.
4:58–5:04Sita, I understand, my lord, I understand.
5:04–5:11And yet separation from those we love brings such sorrow.
5:11–5:14Rama, true.
5:14–5:21stages of life tear the tendrest fibers of the heart and awaken in a sensitive person
5:21–5:30such detachment that he longs to renounce every pleasure and seek peace in the forest.
5:30–5:42Chamberlain, Dear Rama, Your Majesty, Rama, Good Sir, Not So, From one who served in my
5:42–5:49My father's household, dear Rama, is entirely proper.
5:49–5:53Speak to me as you did before.
5:53–5:58Chamberlain, Ashtavakra has arrived from Rishishringas Hermitage.
5:58–6:04Sita, then widely, good sir.
6:04–6:07Exit Chamberlain.
6:07–6:10Ashta Vakra.
6:10–6:13Sitting.
6:13–6:16Bring him in at once.
6:16–6:20Ashta Vakra, blessings upon you both.
6:20–6:25Rama, my reverence, holy sir.
6:25–6:27Please be seated.
6:27–6:31Sita, my reverence.
6:31–6:35Are my elders and my sister-in-law Shanta.
6:35–6:37Well.
6:37–6:44Rama, are my soma drinking brother-in-law Rishya Sringa and my sister Shanta both well.
6:44–6:48Sita, did they remember us?
6:48–6:52Ashna Vakra, certainly.
6:52–6:58Your Majesty, Vasishtha sends you this message.
6:58–7:02Virtuous earth, who bears all things.
7:02–7:05Herself gave you birth.
7:05–7:14King Janaka, the equal of the Creator, is your Father, and, my daughter, you are the daughter
7:14–7:27in law of a royal house that has two spiritual guides, ourselves, and the Son God Himself.
7:27–7:34What more can we wish for you than the birth of a heroic son?
7:34–7:38Rama, I am deeply honored.
7:38–7:46In ordinary life, a good man's words conform to fact.
7:46–7:54But in the case of a primeval seer, fact itself conforms to his word.
7:54–8:02Orendotti, the Queen Mother's, and Shanta have issued this emphatic command.
8:02–8:10Whatever seated desires during her pregnancy must be granted without delay.
8:10–8:15Whatever she asks, I shall fulfill.
8:15–8:21Rishishringa, the Queen's brother-in-law.
8:21–8:28Said this, my daughter, because your pregnancy is so advanced.
8:28–8:32You have not been summoned here.
8:32–8:35Dear Rama,
8:35–8:40has been charged only with keeping you happy.
8:40–8:45I hope soon to see you safe and well.
8:45–8:49With your son in your arms.
8:49–8:54Smiling with joy and modest embarrassment.
8:54–8:56So be it.
8:56–9:02Did Vasishtha send no message for me?
9:02–9:04Listen.
9:04–9:07We are detained.
9:07–9:12At your brother-in-law's sacrifice.
9:12–9:20You are still young, and your reign has only just begun.
9:20–9:27devote yourself to the happiness of your people.
9:27–9:32For a stainless reputation is a treasure,
9:32–9:36more precious than life.
9:36–9:40The son of Maitra and Varna shall be obeyed.
9:40–9:49Affection, compassion, happiness, not only these, even Janaki herself.
9:49–9:58I would surrender without a moment's hesitation for the happiness of my people.
9:58–10:03That is why my lord is the mainstay of the house of Ragu.
10:03–10:05Is anyone there?
10:05–10:11See that Ashdavakra is given a place to rest.
10:11–10:14Rises and turns.
10:14–10:17Exit.
10:17–10:20Enter Lakshman.
10:20–10:24Ah, Prince Lakshmana has arrived.
10:24–10:30Lakshmana, victory to my brother.
10:30–10:36The painter has completed the story of your life in the picture gallery exactly as we
10:36–10:40described it.
10:40–10:45My sister-in-law is invited to see it.
10:45–10:52Dear brother, you have a gift for finding ways to lift the queen's sorrow.
10:52–10:56How far does the story go?
10:56–11:00As far as my sister-in-law's purification by fire.
11:00–11:04They rise and move forward.
11:04–11:06Looking.
11:06–11:09Silence.
11:09–11:13She who was perfectly pure from birth.
11:13–11:17What need had she of purification?
11:17–11:22Pure water and fire cannot themselves be purified.
11:22–11:25By any other means.
11:25–11:31Dear Queen, born from the sacrificial ground, forgive me.
11:31–11:36I shall remain humbled before you all my life.
11:36–11:40Those for whom family honor is true wealth.
11:40–11:50satisfy even their critics. The unrighteous demand I made under pressure of public opinion
11:50–11:59was one I never wished to make of you. Everyone knows that a rare and fragrant flower belongs
11:59–12:07as the crowning ornament upon the head, not crushed beneath the feet. See the, let it
12:07–12:15be, my lord, let it be. Come, let us see the story of your life.
12:15–12:26Lakshmana, the mural is this way. Sita, who are those beings gathered above in this scene?
12:26–12:33They seem to be singing my lord's praises. Lakshmana, they are the divine weapons called
12:33–12:42Trimbaka, together with their secret spells. Krishashiva gave them to Kaushika Vishwamitra,
12:42–12:49friend of the world, and, after my brother slew to Taka, Vishwamitra bestowed them upon
12:49–13:01him. Rama, my queen, bow to the divine weapons. For the welfare of the Vedic faith, Brahma,
13:01–13:10and the other gods practiced austerities for more than a thousand years.
13:10–13:15These weapons are the embodied power of that penance,
13:15–13:20which the ancient masters were able to behold.
13:20–13:21I bow to them.
13:21–13:25Rama, they will surely serve your children one day.
13:25–13:29Sita, I am blessed.
13:29–13:30This is the episode in Medi-la.
13:30–13:33Sita, ah, there is my lord.
13:33–13:37He has broken Shiva's vow with effortless ease, while my father gazes upon his gentle
13:37–13:41radiance, almost speechless with wonder at the beauty of his form, dark as a blue lotus
13:41–13:46in full bloom, soft and smooth, yet firm and strong, his head adorned only by the simple
13:46–13:48grace of a single top knot.
13:48–13:50Lakshmana, look here.
13:50–13:52Your father bows to his new kinsmen.
13:52–13:54Vasishtha and the others.
13:54–13:57And Shatna and Agadama, the family priest.
13:57–14:01all the kings of Janaka's line, Bose as well.
14:01–14:05This scene is truly worth seeing.
14:05–14:14Who would not welcome the union of the houses of Raghu and Janaka, in which the son of Kushtika
14:14–14:19was both the giver and the receiver?
14:19–14:26Sita, here are all four brothers after giving the customary gift of cattle.
14:26–14:34you have undertaken the marriage vows. I feel as though I were there again, as though that
14:34–14:37very moment were present now.
14:37–14:39Rama.
14:39–14:47My beloved, I too feel that the moment is here again. When Godama, delighted, placed in my
14:47–14:56hand, your hand, shining with its wedding bracelet, as though it were the sacred rite
14:56–15:05of marriage, itself embodied. Lakshmana, this is you, this other lady is my sister-in-law
15:05–15:17Mandavi, and this is my wife Shukriti. Sita, and, dear boy, who is the other young woman?
15:17–15:21Everything awkwardly, aside.
15:21–15:22Allowed.
15:22–15:27Ah, she must be asking about Urmila.
15:27–15:29Very well, I shall draw her attention elsewhere.
15:29–15:33Ah, look at this, this is well worth seeing.
15:33–15:34It is Bhargava.
15:34–15:38Sita, the very sight of him frightens me.
15:38–15:41A little annoyed.
15:41–15:46Looking at him with affection and admiration.
15:46–15:50His eyes fill with tears.
15:50–15:55Without answering, he moves on.
15:55–15:58Laughing aside.
15:58–16:01My reverence, holy sage.
16:01–16:07Lakshmana, look, brother, here you are now.
16:07–16:12Rama, come, there is much else worth seeing.
16:12–16:14Show me another scene.
16:14–16:21Sita, my lord, how becoming that noble modesty is in you.
16:21–16:25Lakshmana, this is the return to Ayodhya.
16:25–16:32Rama, I remember, ah, I remember it all so clearly.
16:32–16:39Those days when father was alive, when our married life was new,
16:39–16:43and our mothers watched over me,
16:43–16:47Those days are gone forever.
16:47–16:51And here is Jonikie as she was then.
16:51–16:55A little girl whose face shone with innocence.
16:55–17:00Her few new teeth like tiny flowers.
17:00–17:03New shoots appearing in front.
17:03–17:07After her milk teeth had fallen.
17:07–17:11Her delicate little limbs so lovely.
17:11–17:19like pure moonlight, as though nature herself had taught her the art of enchantment. That
17:19–17:24awaken such wonder in every part of me.
17:24–17:28Lakshmana, this is Manthara.
17:28–17:31Rama, Queen Vadehi.
17:31–17:37This is the Ingoody Tree at Sringavarapura, where,
17:37–17:43Long ago, we met our dear friend, the Nishada king.
17:43–17:50Lakshmana, ah, my brother wants to pass over the episode of our middle mother.
17:50–17:58Sita, this is the occasion when you had to bind your hair in a hermit's matted locks.
17:58–18:05Lakshmana, the vow that the ancient Ikshvaku kings assumed.
18:05–18:14handing the kingdom to their sons. My brother assumed that vow while still young.
18:14–18:17The Sacred Vow of Forest Exile.
18:17–18:24Sita, this is the Bhagyartha, with her clear and holy waters.
18:24–18:32Rama, Goddess, Guardian Deity of Raghu's house, I bow to you.
18:32–18:39While searching for the horse of Sagra's sacrifice, my ancestors dug into the earth
18:39–18:50with single-minded purpose, until the wrathful and mighty Kapila reduced them to ashes.
18:50–19:00Those forefathers of Badjaratha were finally redeemed by Badjaratha's fierce austerities.
19:00–19:08of his own body. And, holy river, by the touch of your waters they were set free.
19:08–19:17Mother, I pray you, love your daughter-in-law Sita as Arundhati loves her.
19:17–19:21This is Shema, the dark banyan, on the bank of the colony, along the road to Chitrakootah,
19:21–19:27where Bharadvaja directed us. Sita, does my lord remember this place? Rama, how could
19:27–19:33I forget. The hardship of the journey had left your delicate limbs weary and sore. Then,
19:33–19:39limp as a crushed lotus. You laid them in my lap. I massage them with firm hands. Until
19:39–19:44you fell into a deep sleep. Lakshmana, this is Virata, barring our way at the entrance
19:44–19:50to the Vindhya forest. Sita, no, no more of that. Here I see us entering the southern
19:50–19:54forest, as though it were happening before my eyes, my lord holding a parasol of palm
19:54–20:00leaves above my head. Rama. These are the groves beside the mountain streams, where
20:00–20:04ascetics practiced penance beneath the trees, and householders seeking peace built their
20:04–20:10homes. Generous to guests though they lived on a single handful of grain each day.
20:10–20:15This is Mount Prasaravana in the heart of Janasthana. Its caves, embraced by dense
20:15–20:20forest on every side, echoed with the sound of the Godavari. The green-black woodland,
20:20–20:23thick with trees and undergrowth, was so deep that the mountain's natural darkness
20:23–20:26darkness was made darker still by clouds forever gathering above it.
20:26–20:27Rama.
20:27–20:31My beloved, do you remember the days we spent on that mountain?
20:31–20:34When Lakshmana supplied our every need.
20:34–20:36And the place felt like home?
20:36–20:39Do you remember the clear flowing Godavari nearby?
20:39–20:41And all our wanderings along its banks?
20:41–20:43And this too?
20:43–20:45Lying cheek against cheek in the depth of love.
20:45–20:49Murmuring whatever came to mind in voices scarcely heard.
20:49–20:51Holding each other in a close embrace.
20:51–20:57powers passed without our knowing. When dawn came, it seemed that only the night had ended.
20:57–21:02Lakshmana, this is Sherpanaka at Panchavadi. Sita, my lord, this is the last time I saw
21:02–21:04you.
21:04–21:08Her eyes fill, aside.
21:08–21:11Watching Rama with concern.
21:11–21:19Come, why be so afraid of separation? It is only a picture.
21:19–21:26Sita, a picture, yes, but wicked people can still bring calamity.
21:26–21:35Rama, ah, it feels as though the events at Janasthana were truly happening again.
21:35–21:43Lakshmana, hear those evil rauchises, through the deception of the golden deer.
21:43–21:48Committed a crime that still wounds the heart today.
21:48–21:57Even though vengeance was complete, my brother's half-mad conduct when Janasthana lay empty
21:57–22:01could still make stone weep and split a heart of iron.
22:01–22:11Sita, ah, my lord, joy of Raghu's house, how much you suffered because of me.
22:11–22:15Lakshmana, brother, what is this now?
22:15–22:19A flood of tears is rising.
22:19–22:27The drops that fall to the ground scatter like a fine string of pearls torn apart.
22:27–22:37You try to master your grief, yet your trembling lips and nostrils and your chest heaving beneath
22:37–22:39its weight.
22:39–22:43Make your anguish plain to all.
22:43–22:48looking at the picture, aloud.
22:48–22:59Dear brother, then the fire of grief kindled by separation from my beloved was fierce indeed,
22:59–23:04but the thirst for vengeance made it bearable.
23:04–23:14Now, after smoldering within me without cease, it has become the pain of a wound driven into
23:14–23:16the heart's most tender core.
23:16–23:24Sita, my lord, in boundless terror I see myself alone, without you.
23:24–23:30Lakshmana, I must turn their thoughts elsewhere.
23:30–23:36This depicts the age-old vulture king, father Jatayu, and his valor.
23:36–23:44Sita, ah, father, you fulfill the father's duty of love toward his daughter.
23:44–23:52Rama, ah, father, king of birds, son of Kishapa.
23:52–23:57Where shall we ever find another benefactor so great?
23:57–24:05This part of the Danica Forest west of Janasthana is called Chitrakoondjavat.
24:05–24:09Here lived the headless demon Kabanda.
24:09–24:14This is the hermitage of the great sage Mithingan on Mount Rishiyamukha.
24:14–24:20And here is the wondrous Shabara ascetic, the holy woman Sharmani.
24:20–24:25Over there is the lotus lake called Pampa.
24:25–24:31I have heard that it was here my lord could no longer contain his grief and lament it aloud.
24:31–24:36My queen, it was a lake of extraordinary beauty.
24:36–24:42There were masses of white lotuses, their thick stem swayed.
24:42–24:47As the wings of joyfully calling swan stirred them.
24:47–24:52But between one falling tear and the next one rising,
24:52–24:57They all appeared to me as blue lotuses.
24:57–24:59This is the noble Hanuman.
24:59–25:01Yes.
25:01–25:05This is the great son of the Wind God, whose incomparable service delivered a world that
25:05–25:08had suffered so long.
25:08–25:16All glory to the mighty son of Anjana, whose power secured the welfare of us all and
25:16–25:18of the entire world.
25:18–25:24Dear boy, what is the name of this mountain, where peacocks on blossoming Kadamba trees
25:24–25:27were roused to a wild dance?
25:27–25:31Here my lord is shown beneath a tree, you hold him as tears stream from his eyes.
25:31–25:36He is on the verge of fainting, his natural radiance dimmed, only a remnant of his former
25:36–25:39enchanting splendor left.
25:39–25:43This is Mount Malayavan, filled with the fragrance of Kakuba blossoms.
25:43–25:46Its summit forever dark and wet beneath newly gathered clouds.
25:46–25:48Rama.
25:48–25:50Dear brother, stop, please stop.
25:50–25:52I can bear no more.
25:52–25:56It is as though separation from Jonaki were coming upon me once again.
25:56–26:00Lakshmana, beyond this, brother, are painted the countless marvelous feats of the monkeys
26:00–26:04and rauchasis, each more astonishing than the last.
26:04–26:07But my sister-in-law must be tired, she should rest now.
26:07–26:12Sita, my lord, while looking at these pictures a pregnancy longing has arisen in me.
26:12–26:14I wish to ask one favor of you.
26:14–26:18Rama, you need only command me.
26:18–26:24I wish to go into a pure, deep forest and bathe in the holy, quiet, cooling waters of the Bajarathi.
26:24–26:26Rama, dear Lakshmana.
26:27–26:28Lakshmana, command me.
26:29–26:34Rama, the elders have just ordered that every desire of hers be fulfilled at once.
26:34–26:37Bring a comfortable chariot with the gentlest motion.
26:39–26:41My lord, will you not come with me too?
26:42–26:43Exit.
26:45–26:46She does so.
26:46–26:50In rapture.
26:50–26:54Cruel-hearted woman, did that even need to be asked?
26:54–27:00Sita, I am very happy to hear it.
27:00–27:03Lakshmana, as my brother commands.
27:03–27:10Rama, come, let us sit for a moment in this corner by the window.
27:10–27:14Sita, yes.
27:14–27:18You're walking so much, I truly am tired.
27:18–27:26Rama, then come, put your whole weight upon me, I shall carry you.
27:26–27:31Place your arm around my neck, it gives me new life.
27:31–27:39Your arm, beaded with perspiration from effort and unease, is like a necklace of moon stones
27:39–27:43dripping water at the touch of moonbeams.
27:43–27:54it, what is this? Every touch of yours produces a transformation that cannot be called pleasure
27:54–28:05or pain, fainting or sleep, intoxication or poison spreading through every limb. It bewilders
28:05–28:14my senses awakening and numbing consciousness at once.
28:14–28:27Laughing. She looks for somewhere to lie down. Pretending to fall asleep. She falls asleep.
28:27–28:34He gazes at her tenderly. Enter a doorkeeper.
28:34–28:37Your love for me has always been unwavering.
28:37–28:39What else could it be?
28:39–28:40Rama.
28:40–28:43It makes the withered flower of my life.
28:43–28:45Bloom again.
28:45–28:47Renews my strength.
28:47–28:49And entrances every sense.
28:49–28:53These sweet words of my lotus-eyed wife.
28:53–28:56Nectar to the ear, the elixir of life to the heart.
28:56–29:00Sita, sweet-tongued lord, come, let us rest.
29:00–29:03Rama, there is no need to look.
29:03–29:10the moment of our marriage, whether at home or in the forest, in childhood or in youth.
29:10–29:17This has been your one place of rest. Where no other woman has ever laid her head. This
29:17–29:26arm of Rama shall be your pillow. Sita, it is true, my lord, true. Rama, what is this?
29:26–29:32Has my sweet speaking beloved fallen into a deep sleep upon my breast? She is laxmi
29:32–29:38herself dwelling in my house. An ambrosial balm for my eyes. The touch of a rich sander would
29:38–29:46paste upon my body. Her arm about my neck. Is a cool, smooth necklace of pearls. What
29:46–29:52is not dear to me in her? Except the agony of separation. Doorkeeper, my lord, he is
29:52–29:53here.
29:53–29:59Here. Who is here?
29:59–30:02Majesty's personal attendant, Dermaka.
30:02–30:05Aside
30:05–30:07Allowed
30:07–30:11Exit Doorkeeper
30:11–30:14Enter Durmukha
30:14–30:16Aside
30:16–30:21Dermaka, an attendant of the Inner Palace.
30:21–30:27I appointed him to learn what the people of the city and countryside are saying.
30:27–30:29Admit him.
30:29–30:36Dermaca, how can I tell the king this unspeakable rumor about Queen Sita?
30:36–30:41Yet this burden has fallen upon unfortunate me.
30:41–30:45Crying out in her sleep.
30:45–30:48Tenderhearted Lord, where are you?
30:48–30:52He gently caresses her.
30:52–30:58The dreadful fear of separation awakened by the pictures is troubling the queen's dreams.
30:59–31:02Constancy in joy and sorrow.
31:03–31:06Harmony in every circumstance.
31:07–31:10A place where the heart can rest.
31:10–31:15A sweetness that even old age cannot destroy.
31:15–31:19When time strips away every covering.
31:19–31:25And pure love ripens, what alone remains.
31:25–31:29This incomparable blessing comes only to the good.
31:29–31:33And even then, only through fortune.
31:33–31:36Approaching!
31:36–31:39Victory to the king!
31:39–31:43Tell me what you have learned.
31:43–31:46The people of the city and countryside praise your majesty,
31:46–31:52saying, Lord Rama has made us forget even King Doshrata.
31:52–31:55That is mere flattery.
31:55–32:02If you have learned of any fault, tell me, so that it may be corrected.
32:02–32:06His eyes fill with tears.
32:06–32:09He whispers everything in Ramasya.
32:09–32:14Listen, my lord.
32:14–32:17He feigns.
32:17–32:22Above your words have become a thunderbolt and pierced me to the heart
32:24–32:27My lord take hold of yourself
32:29–32:31Recovering consciousness
32:32–32:35He thinks then speaks in anguish
32:37–32:39He whispers the command
32:41–32:43No, ah no
32:43–32:48The stain of having lived in another man's house.
32:48–32:54Vada he had erased by a miraculous means.
32:54–32:59But through a crooked turn of fate it has appeared again.
32:59–33:04Spreading far and wide like the poison of a rabid dog.
33:04–33:07What can wretched Rama do?
33:07–33:10What else can I do?
33:10–33:16The vow of a righteous king is to keep his people content by every means.
33:16–33:21My father upheld that vow at the cost of me.
33:21–33:26And in the end, of his own life.
33:26–33:31And thus Ishta has only now given me the same command.
33:31–33:37Then, if the stainless honor of this house,
33:37–33:44Brightened by the conduct of the mighty ancient kings of the solar line, is sullied by reproach
33:44–33:51arising for my marriage, then I am surely ruined and condemned.
33:51–33:59O Queen, born from the sacrificial ground, by your birth you honored and sanctified
33:59–34:02earth herself.
34:02–34:07You brought joy to Janaka and the line of Nimi.
34:07–34:13Vaisishta and Arundhati have praised your character.
34:13–34:18Rama is your whole life, in the deep forest.
34:18–34:24You were my beloved companion, gentle and measured in speech.
34:24–34:27The darling of my father.
34:27–34:31How can such calamity fall upon such a woman?
34:31–34:36Through you every creature in the world is blessed.
34:36–34:40Yet this accursed rumor has fallen upon you.
34:40–34:44In you the people found a true protector.
34:44–34:49Yet you yourself stand unprotected before destruction.
34:49–34:57Durmukha, tell Lakshmana that the inexperienced King Rama has an order for him.
34:57–35:02The Queen, purified before the fire and made holi astill by carrying the continuance of
35:02–35:06Ragu's line in her womb, how could your majesty reach such a decision merely on
35:06–35:10hearing a wicked rumour about her.
35:10–35:12Silence.
35:12–35:17How dare you call the people of the city and countryside wicked.
35:17–35:22The Ikshvaku house has earned the people's trust.
35:22–35:26This seed of slander is the fruit of fate.
35:26–35:31And the miraculous event at the time of her purification
35:31–35:36He took place in a distant land, who here will believe it.
35:36–35:39Go!
35:39–35:41Exit!
35:41–35:44Aw, my queen!
35:44–35:50He carefully lifts Sita's head and withdraws his arm.
35:50–35:53Rising!
35:53–35:57He lays his head at Sita's feet.
35:57–36:00He weeps.
36:00–36:05Ah, what a loathsome deed I am about to commit!
36:05–36:09How cruel I have become!
36:09–36:15From childhood my tender beloved was nourished on the finest food.
36:15–36:19And in the depth of our love was never separated from me.
36:19–36:26Today, by deceit, I am delivering her into the hands of death.
36:26–36:32a man who cuts the throat of a little bird he has raised and cherished.
36:32–36:41How, then, can I, an outcast, untouchable, dare pollute the queen with my touch?
36:41–36:45Sinless woman, release me.
36:45–36:49I am a chandala capable of anything.
36:49–36:53You thought you rested upon a sandalwood tree.
36:53–36:57Not that you had lain upon a poisonous one.
36:57–36:59God above.
36:59–37:03The world has overturned.
37:03–37:08There is no longer any purpose in Rama's living.
37:08–37:14Suddenly the earth is an empty and desolate forest, life is lifeless, the body mere inert
37:14–37:16matter.
37:16–37:22There is no refuge, what shall I do, where shall I go?
37:22–37:32It seems Rama was given consciousness only so that he might feel pain.
37:32–37:39Life itself is tearing through my heart as though my body had been fastened with iron
37:39–37:41spikes.
37:41–37:49Mother Arundhati, Lord Vasishta and Vishwamitra, Lord Fire, Goddess Earth who bears all living
37:49–37:52beings.
37:52–38:00Janaka, my mother's, dear friend King Sugriva, Gentle Hanuman, Vibhishana Lord of Lanka,
38:00–38:07greatest of benefactors, dear friend Trajata, this vile Rama has deceived and dishonored
38:07–38:09you all.
38:09–38:14But who am I now to take your names upon my lips?
38:14–38:21For an ungrateful wretch like me even to speak their names, would be to stain those great
38:21–38:32souls with my sin. I. I remove from my breast the jewel of my house, my beloved wife. Who
38:32–38:41sleeps there unsuspecting, heavy with pregnancy, how anxiously the child moved, and cast her
38:41–38:49mercilessly before dogs like an offering of flesh. My queen, my queen, this is the
38:49–38:55The last time Rama will lay his head upon your lotus feet.
38:55–38:58Voice offstage, disaster.
38:58–39:01A terrible disaster.
39:01–39:07Rama, someone find out what has happened.
39:07–39:13A community of great ascetic sages who live along the Yamunna have come to seek your
39:13–39:17protection, terrified by Lavana.
39:17–39:23He takes a few steps, then turns back.
39:23–39:25Exit Rama.
39:25–39:34In her dream, she wakes suddenly, looks around,
39:34–39:37Enter Durmukha.
39:37–39:38What?
39:38–39:43Is Arakshasa still causing havoc?
39:43–39:49Shatradna must be sent to destroy Kamanasi's sun-root and branch.
39:49–39:56Ah, my queen, what will become of you in this terrible crisis?
39:56–40:01Holy Earth, protect your helpless daughter, Jonaki.
40:01–40:06The entire good fortune of the houses of Raghu and Janaka.
40:06–40:13The sacred child you brought forth during the Gods holy sacrifice.
40:13–40:16Deedah, beloved husband.
40:16–40:19My God!
40:19–40:21I had a dreadful dream.
40:21–40:26I was separated from my Lord, calling for Him and weeping.
40:26–40:31But where has He gone, leaving me asleep and alone?
40:31–40:38When I see Him, I shall show a little anger, if I can command my heart once He stands before
40:38–40:39me.
40:39–40:41Is anyone there?
40:41–40:49Damuka, your majesty, Prince Lachmana submits that the chariot is fully prepared and awaits
40:49–40:51you.
40:51–40:54She rises.
40:54–40:57Accent bought.
40:57–40:59I am ready.
40:59–41:01The child in my womb keeps moving.
41:01–41:03I must walk slowly.
41:03–41:06Damuka, this way, your majesty.
41:06–41:09Sita, I bow to the gods of Raghu's house.
41:09–41:11End of act one.
41:11–41:20Enter an ascetic woman dressed as a traveller.
41:20–41:25Enter the forest goddess presenting the offering.
41:25–41:28They sit.
41:28–41:32Welcome to the holy lady, ascetic, ah!
41:32–41:38The forest goddess herself has come to attend me, bearing an offering of fruit, flowers,
41:38–41:40and leaves.
41:40–41:48Godess. Take your full enjoyment of this forest. Today is an auspicious day for me. Meeting
41:48–41:56a good person is rare, and comes only as the fruit of merit. The shade of trees, water,
41:56–42:03and food suited to an ascetic. Fruit, roots, and all else are at your service.
42:03–42:06Like, what can I say?
42:06–42:13Affectionate conduct, restrained speech, made sweet by courtesy, a heart naturally disposed
42:13–42:20to goodwill, and service without hesitation, whether offered first or last, its flavour
42:20–42:22never spoils.
42:22–42:26All glory to this secret of the Virtuous.
42:26–42:29Free from deceit and stain.
42:29–42:33Forest Goddess, may I know who my honoured guest is?
42:33–42:42to act too. Asetic, I am Atreë. Forest Goddess, Atreë, where have you come from, and for
42:42–42:46what purpose are you wandering through the Dandaka Forest?
42:46–42:53Atreë. Many masters of the essence of the Vedas, Agastya and others, live in this region.
42:53–43:00I have travelled far from Valmiki, to learn the knowledge of Vedanta from them. Forest
43:00–43:05goddess, but other sages worship that ancient teacher, the son of
43:05–43:12Prashtas, in order to attain spiritual perfection. Why, then, does the noble lady remain away
43:12–43:19from him? A trey, a very great obstacle has recently arisen in studying near him, and
43:19–43:23for that reason I have accepted this long separation.
43:23–43:26Forest Goddess. What sort of obstacle?
43:26–43:32A god, what a marvelous event it was, once brought two twin boys, newly weaned to Lord
43:32–43:33Valmiki.
43:33–43:39Naturally, the children won his heart, not his alone, but the hearts of every living
43:39–43:42and unmoving thing.
43:42–43:44Forest Goddess is anything known of their names.
43:44–43:50Atre'i, it is said that the god himself revealed their names, Kusha and Lava, and
43:50–43:52their powers.
43:52–43:54Interlude to Act 2.
43:54–43:56Forest Goddess, What Powers?
43:56–44:01Atre'i, it is said that from the moment of birth the divine weapons, together with their
44:01–44:05secret spells, were under their command.
44:05–44:07Forest Goddess, Truly Astonishing.
44:07–44:14Atre'i, Valmiki undertook the work of a nurse and reared and cared for both boys.
44:14–44:19After their first tauncher, he formally instructed them in the three branches of learning apart
44:19–44:23from the three Vedas, finally, in their eleventh year.
44:23–44:26He performed their initiation according to the Kshatriya Rite and taught them the three
44:26–44:28sacred sciences.
44:28–44:33It is hardly fitting for ordinary students like us to study, beside boys of such brilliant
44:33–44:36intelligence and insight.
44:36–44:374.
44:37–44:43A teacher gives the same knowledge to the dull and the keen, but cannot create or destroy
44:43–44:46their capacity to receive it.
44:46–44:48Therefore the results differ greatly.
44:48–44:51A polished jewel holds a reflection.
44:51–44:54A lump of clay does not.
44:54–44:57Forest goddess, is that the obstacle to your studies?
44:57–45:01A tray, there is another as well.
45:01–45:04Interlude to act two.
45:04–45:07Forest goddess, what is it?
45:07–45:11Once the brahmarshi went to the river Tamesa for his midday bath.
45:11–45:17There he saw a hunter kill one bird of a pair of crownches while they were mating.
45:17–45:20Finally the goddess of speech appeared to his mind's eye.
45:20–45:24Every sound was clear, measured in a meter of eight syllables.
45:24–45:26She found voice in this form.
45:26–45:32Hunter, through endless time, you shall win no honor.
45:32–45:34Because you killed one bird.
45:34–45:37Of this crownchappere joined in love.
45:37–45:44Forest goddess, how wondrous, a new incarnation of meter, independent of the Vedas.
45:44–45:48Her eyes filled with tears.
45:48–45:51Alarmed, aside.
45:51–45:54Allowed.
45:54–45:58She whispers in Vasanteesya.
45:58–46:01She feints.
46:01–46:05At that moment, when the light of speech's sacred mystery appeared within the sage, the
46:05–46:10lotus-born god, the giver of life to every creature, came to him and said,
46:10–46:16you have attained knowledge of the mystery called speech. Now tell the story of Rama.
46:16–46:22You shall receive the eye of inspiration, a seer's vision whose light never grows dim.
46:22–46:29You are the first poet. Having said this, he vanished. Then the son of Prachatas composed
46:29–46:35the Ramayana, the first revelation in human society of the mystery of speech in the form of history.
46:35–46:41Interlude to Act 2 Forest Goddess, all life itself has been
46:41–46:42enriched.
46:42–46:48Atre'i, that is why I spoke of a great impediment to study.
46:48–46:50Forest Goddess, naturally.
46:50–46:54Atre'i, good lady, I have rested.
46:54–46:58Now tell me the road to Agustya's Hermitage.
46:58–47:03Forest Goddess, enter Panchavadi from here and continue along the bank of the Godavari.
47:03–47:08Atre'i, is this the celebrated sacred grove of Panchavati?
47:08–47:11Is this river the Godavari, that mountain Prasarvanna?
47:11–47:14And are you Vassanti, goddess of Janasthana?
47:14–47:18Vassanti, every word you say is true.
47:18–47:21Atre'i, daughter Janaki.
47:21–47:24All these things were dear to you.
47:24–47:28The subject of countless conversations from moment to moment.
47:28–47:33And today, as I look upon them, it is as though I see you in person.
47:33–47:36Though now nothing remains but your name.
47:36–47:41Vasanti, nothing remains but her name, what does that mean?
47:41–47:44Noble lady, has some calamity befallen Queen Sita.
47:44–47:50Atreyi, not calamity alone, disgrace as well.
47:50–47:52Interlude to act too.
47:52–47:54Vasanti, ah.
47:54–47:56What a cruel blow of fate.
47:56–48:00Atre'i, dear lady, take hold of yourself.
48:00–48:07Vasanti, ah, my beloved friend, most honored of women, is this what life has brought you.
48:07–48:11Dear Rama, dear Rama, know enough of your name.
48:11–48:18Atre'i, is there any news of what happened to Sita, after Lakshmana left her in the forest and returned?
48:18–48:22Atre'i, alas, none at all.
48:22–48:28How terrible! With Ragu's house under the protection of Orondottie and Vesyshther, and the aged
48:28–48:30Queen Mother is still alive, how could this happen?
48:30–48:36A tray! At that time the elders were at Rishishringer's Hermitage. The twelve-year sacrifice has
48:36–48:41now ended. Rishishringer was preparing to send them away with due honour when Orondottie
48:41–48:46said, I will not return to Ironhire without my daughter-in-law.
48:46–48:50Rammer's mothers agreed. In accordance with Orondottie's wish, Vesyshther too
48:50–48:54to wisely advise that they should all go and live in Valmiki's sacred grove.
48:54–48:57Vasanti, what is the king doing?
48:57–48:58A tray.
48:58–49:00The king has begun a horse sacrifice.
49:00–49:06Vasanti, God above, has he then taken another wife?
49:06–49:11Harise Phil, with affection and wonder.
49:11–49:15They turn and exit together.
49:15–49:19May the Lord never do such a thing, never.
49:19–49:27to act too. Vasanti, then who is his consecrated wife at the sacrifice? Atrei, a golden image
49:27–49:35of Sita. Vasanti, ah. Who can understand the heart of such an extraordinary man? At once
49:35–49:43harder than steel. And far softer than a flower. Atrei, after Vamadeva's formal blessing,
49:43–49:48The sacrificial horse was released and its guardians appointed according to scripture.
49:48–49:55Chandraketu, Lakshmana's son, who has inherited the lineage of divine weapons, commands them.
49:55–49:58He has been sent ahead with the fourfold army.
49:58–50:03Vasanti, Prince Lakshmana has a son too.
50:03–50:05Mother that news gives me strength.
50:05–50:11Atreey, amid all these events, a Brahmin laid his dead son at the palace gate, beat
50:11–50:18his breast and cried disaster. Dear Rama, compassion embodied, reflected that no untimely death
50:18–50:23could occur among his subjects unless there were some fault in the king. Then a voice
50:23–50:29from the sky declared, Somewhere on earth a lowborn man named Shambukha is practicing
50:29–50:35hysterities. Rama, cut off his head. Only by killing him will the Brahmin sun live
50:35–50:37again.
50:37–50:39Interlude to act too.
50:39–50:44On hearing this, the lord of the world took sword in hand, mounted the Pushpaka aerial
50:44–50:48chariot, and set out to search in every direction for the Shudra ascetic.
50:48–50:54Vasanti, here in Janasthana itself, a Shudra named Shambukha, is performing penance by
50:54–50:56inhaling smoke.
50:56–51:00If only dear Rama might adorn this forest once again.
51:00–51:04Atreey, dear lady, I must leave now.
51:04–51:09Vassanti, very well, a tree, though the day has become unbearably hot.
51:10–51:14The trees dwelling on the riverbank worship the Godavari with offerings of flowers.
51:15–51:18When elephants come to rub their itching cheeks against them,
51:19–51:22masses of blossoms fall from stems softened by the heat.
51:23–51:27In the shade, birds tear at the bark and pick insects out with their beaks.
51:28–51:31While doves and jungle fell grown in the oppressive heat.
51:31–51:44At rise, Rama is aboard the Pushpaka aerial chariot, filled with compassion, his sword
51:44–51:46raised.
51:46–51:51With great effort, he strikes.
51:51–51:55Enter a celestial man.
51:55–52:02By right hand, strike this Shudra ascetic with the sword and restore the Brahmin's dead
52:02–52:05son to life.
52:05–52:15You are a limb of that same Rama who dared banish his own weary Sita, heavy with pregnancy.
52:15–52:18Why does compassion awaken in you now?
52:18–52:23There, you have done a deed worthy of Rama.
52:23–52:26Let the Brahmin son live.
52:26–52:31Celestial man, victory to the king.
52:31–52:38By imposing just punishment, you grant safety even from Yama himself.
52:38–52:45Because of you the child has returned to life, and I too have attained a higher state.
52:45–52:50I, Shambhuka, bow my head at your feet.
52:50–52:58Whatever comes through contact with the good, even death, brings liberation.
52:58–53:01Looks around.
53:01–53:04Both results please me.
53:04–53:09Now enjoy the fruit of your severe austerities.
53:09–53:16May the vast, radiant world of heaven, filled with joy and happiness accumulated through
53:16–53:21merit, be yours forever.
53:21–53:28Shambhuka, I obtained this exalted state by bowing at your feet, austerity had no part
53:28–53:30in it.
53:30–53:35Yet perhaps my penance did me one great service.
53:35–53:43Lord of all creatures and my refuge, I should have had to search the whole earth for you.
53:43–53:49But you yourself crossed hundreds upon hundreds of leagues.
53:49–53:58seek out a low-born man like me. Surely this was the boom granted by my penance. Otherwise
53:58–54:02why would you leave Ayodhya and return to Dandaka?
54:02–54:14Rama, what, is this the Dandaka forest? Yes. Here are soft, deep green pastures, their
54:14–54:23harsh and terrifying ground. On every side, to the horizon, the roar of swift rivers echoes.
54:24–54:32Between them lie forts, hermitages, mountains, streams, caves, and woods.
54:33–54:38Yes, I know this land, the Dandika region of the Vinnyas.
54:38–54:49This is certainly the Dandika Forest. They say that when your majesty lived here, you
54:49–54:59slough 14,000 fearsome roxas as in battle, and 3 more Ptidashana, Akara, and Trishiras.
54:59–55:04Thus Janastana became holy ground, where even timid people like me could move in
55:04–55:13What, not only Dandika, but Janastana too?
55:13–55:16Yes, certainly.
55:16–55:27The vast forest stretching south from Janastana, with its lots of mountain caves full of parks of savage wild dogs, makes anyone's hair stand on end.
55:27–55:31In some places the land is silent as death.
55:31–55:34Elsewhere wild beasts howl.
55:34–55:42The heaths of Enomas, the dreadful snakes lying quietly asleep seems to kindle fire.
55:42–55:47Water is scarce, afound only in deep fishes.
55:47–55:53Thirsty lizards drink the sweat from sapons' backs.
55:53–55:56Looks around.
55:56–55:59His eyes fill with tears.
55:59–56:05As I gaze upon Janis Thana, the dwelling place of Korra.
56:05–56:15event seemed to unfold again before my eyes. How deep that he's love for Rama was.
56:15–56:23God above, this very forest, what could be more terrifying. Yet she said, I will live
56:23–56:31with you in the honey-scented forest. And she was truly happy here. So profound was her
56:31–56:42Love. A person need do nothing. The joy of mere companionship erases suffering.
56:42–56:48To have someone who loves you, what a great blessing.
56:48–56:54Leave memories that bring only pain. Let your majesty look toward the forest in the middle
56:54–57:01distance, quiet and grave, enclosed by mountains the color of the soft necks of peacocks
57:01–57:08in rut, adorned with clusters of trees casting dense and deep shade where every kind of animal
57:08–57:10rests without fear.
57:10–57:14Here mountain streams run with clear to cooling water.
57:14–57:22Filled with the fragrance of flowering vines and reeds shaken by excited buds.
57:22–57:27The fierce current plunges roaring through groves of German trees.
57:27–57:30with ripe fruit.
57:30–57:37And father, there are caves in the mountains where bear-cubs live.
57:37–57:42Their gulls are multiplied many times by echoes.
57:42–57:47They cool to sharp as stringent scent of juicy sholaki leaves,
57:47–57:52broken from their stems and scattered by elephants.
57:52–57:56Also tickles within the caves.
57:56–57:59His voice breaking with psalms.
57:59–58:05Good sir, may your journey be blessed.
58:05–58:12Travel by the celestial path and attain the worlds of the virtuous.
58:12–58:15Exit Shambhuka.
58:15–58:22After going to the ancient Brahma-Shiyagastya, I shall enter the eternal abode.
58:22–58:25He looks.
58:25–58:28In anguish.
58:28–58:31Re-enter Shambhuga.
58:31–58:35Today I see again the same forest.
58:35–58:44Where many years ago, I lived for so long, both as an ascetic firm in his duty and as
58:44–58:52a householder, and where I also tasted the sweetness of worldly happiness.
58:52–58:56The same mountains were peacocks called.
58:56–59:00The same forest tracks were deer roamed in rut.
59:00–59:07The same river banks, filled with lovely reeds, vines.
59:07–59:12And rushes growing in dense blue-black clusters.
59:12–59:17That mass rising in the distance like a bank of clouds.
59:17–59:22Is Mount Pasaravana, where the Godavari flows?
59:22–59:28On that mountain's high summit the king of birds once lived.
59:28–59:35And below, on the Godavari's bank, we lived happily in a leaf-thatch hut.
59:35–59:41A forest alive with calling birds and adorned with dark trees.
59:41–59:47Here is Panchavadi, whose many places witness the countless intimate conversations of our
59:47–59:49long residence.
59:49–59:56lives Vasanti, my beloved friend. But what is happening to Rama?
59:56–1:00:05Now, like poison that spreads slowly and suddenly reveals its violent power, or the point of
1:00:05–1:00:13an arrow lodged within and jarred by an outward blow, or an old wound in the heart's tender
1:00:13–1:00:18core that splits open after seeming healed.
1:00:18–1:00:24So my ancient grief has suddenly awakened and begun to tear me apart again.
1:00:24–1:00:28Yet I wish to see those regions that were once my friends.
1:00:28–1:00:35Ah, how greatly the face of the land has changed.
1:00:35–1:00:40Where a stream once flowed, there is now a dry riverbed.
1:00:40–1:00:45Where the trees were dense, they have thinned.
1:00:45–1:00:50And where they were sparse, they have grown thick.
1:00:50–1:00:56Seen after so many years, the forest seems entirely changed.
1:00:56–1:01:01Only the position of the mountains assures me that this is the same place.
1:01:01–1:01:10Ah, despite my reluctance, affection for Panchavadi is drawing me toward it by force.
1:01:10–1:01:17all those days with her were spent. And after we returned home this place remained the subject
1:01:17–1:01:26of constant memory and endless conversation. Now sinful Rama, having killed the one dearest
1:01:26–1:01:35to him and left himself alone. How can he look upon Panchavadi, or pass it without bowing?
1:01:35–1:01:39Shambhuka, victory to the king.
1:01:39–1:01:46Agastya, having learned from me of your arrival, sends this message, Lopamudra has made every
1:01:46–1:01:53preparation for your welcome and waits affectionately with the great sages.
1:01:53–1:01:56Please come and honor us with your presence.
1:01:56–1:02:02Afterwards, you may return swiftly to your own country in the Pushpaka and prepare
1:02:02–1:02:14for the horse sacrifice. I obey the holy sages command. Then let your majesty turn the Pushkaka
1:02:14–1:02:22this way. Panchavadi, forgive the momentary neglect Rama must show you in order to obey
1:02:22–1:02:27his elders command.
1:02:27–1:02:29Accent both.
1:02:29–1:02:33Enter to river goddesses.
1:02:33–1:02:41of my Lord Belook. That is Mount Crunch of Water, where the harsh roar of wind through
1:02:41–1:02:50the bamboo forest, doubled by the cries of owls in lift-ost groves, silences flocks of
1:02:50–1:02:59crows, sapons hurning from branches of ancient sandalwood trees, riding fear at the cause
1:02:59–1:03:08of peacocks strutting proudly below. And father, there are the mountains of the south, in their
1:03:08–1:03:15caves the waters of the Godovery gurgle, and their summits are dark beneath clouds sacking
1:03:15–1:03:23the peaks. And there are the sacred places at the river confluences, where deep water
1:03:23–1:03:31was under the irregular blows of waves, from currents colliding head on.
1:03:31–1:03:34End of Act 2
1:03:34–1:03:37Interlude to Act 3
1:03:37–1:03:42First River friend Morala, do you seem troubled?
1:03:42–1:03:49Morala Tutamasa, Lopamudra, wife of Agastya, has sent me with this message for our noble
1:03:49–1:03:52River Godavari.
1:03:52–1:03:57You know well that from the moment he abandoned his daughter in law, Rama has been filled
1:03:57–1:04:00with a tragic mood.
1:04:00–1:04:08His grave bearing conceals it, while acute pain smolders within him, like an earthen vessel
1:04:08–1:04:11baking among embers.
1:04:11–1:04:17The current of grief born from the calamity that befell his beloved wife, growing ever
1:04:17–1:04:22stronger without cease, has now utterly broken the aroma.
1:04:22–1:04:26The strings of my heart snap when I see him.
1:04:26–1:04:32Today he is returning to Panchivati to look for the last time upon the places that witnessed
1:04:32–1:04:37the intimate moments of his forest life with his wife.
1:04:37–1:04:42He is self-controlled by nature, yet I fear that in such a place unbearable blows of
1:04:42–1:04:46grief will assail him at every step.
1:04:46–1:04:50God-over-it take heed of this.
1:04:50–1:04:55Send toward the aroma, with utmost gentleness.
1:04:55–1:05:03Abrace cool by droplets from your waves, and carrying the fragrance of lotus pollen.
1:05:03–1:05:08And when he is about to faint, he sooth his life-breath.
1:05:08–1:05:15to act three. Tomasa, such foresight is entirely worthy of Lopomudra's affection.
1:05:17–1:05:22Yet a more fundamental means of reviving diorama is available even now.
1:05:24–1:05:32How? Listen. It is said that many years ago, immediately after Lokshmona abandoned her,
1:05:32–1:05:36and returned from Valmiki's sacred grove, Queen Cita's labor pains began.
1:05:36–1:05:43The agony was so intense that she threw herself into the Ganges. There she gave birth to twin sons.
1:05:43–1:05:48Earth and Gonga came to her aid and took her down to the Netherworld.
1:05:48–1:05:55When the boys were weaned, Goddess Gonga herself entrusted them to the care of the great sage descended from Prashthaters.
1:05:55–1:05:58Inna Stonishment
1:05:58–1:06:03Even the calamities of such a woman become occasions for pure wonder.
1:06:03–1:06:08wonder. For divine powers such as these come to her aid.
1:06:08–1:06:12They turn and exit together.
1:06:12–1:06:17Now Bagarata learned from Sarayu that Dear Rama might have come to Janasthana because
1:06:17–1:06:24of the affair of Shambhuka. She too was seized by the same tender concern as Lopamudra. So,
1:06:24–1:06:29on the pretext of performing a right to ward off evil, she came with Sita to visit the
1:06:29–1:06:31godavari.
1:06:31–1:06:33Interlude to Act 3.
1:06:33–1:06:36Murala, Gonga's foresight was wise.
1:06:36–1:06:41As long as King Rama remained in the capital, occupied with the many urgent affairs of his
1:06:41–1:06:45subjects, his attention was necessarily divided.
1:06:45–1:06:51But now, with no diversion and no companion but grief, returning to Panchavati is dangerous.
1:06:51–1:06:55Can Queen Sita somehow console dear Rama?
1:06:55–1:06:59For Marse, Goddess Bagarate has already considered this.
1:06:59–1:07:04She said to Sita, daughter Sita, born from the sacrificial ground, today the tally of
1:07:04–1:07:09the birth years of Kusha and Lava, may they live forever, has reached twelve.
1:07:09–1:07:15Therefore, gather flowers with your own hands and worship the stainless sun, first ancestor
1:07:15–1:07:20of humankind, founder of your son's royal line, and your primordial father-in-law.
1:07:20–1:07:26By my power, not merely human beings, but even gods upon earth will be unable to perceive
1:07:26–1:07:28your presence.
1:07:28–1:07:34Then she commanded me, Tamasa, daughter Jonaki, my daughter-in-law, holds you in special affection,
1:07:34–1:07:36therefore you must attend her.
1:07:36–1:07:38I am now carrying out that command.
1:07:38–1:07:43Murala, I shall tell Lopamudra of this plan.
1:07:43–1:07:46It seems Deerama himself has arrived.
1:07:46–1:07:51Tommasa, and there, emerging from a pool of the Godavari.
1:07:51–1:07:53Interlude to Act 3.
1:07:53–1:07:56Her face veiled by dishevelled hair.
1:07:56–1:07:59Made lovelier by pale and hollow cheeks.
1:07:59–1:08:04The image of compassion, the embodied pain of separation from love.
1:08:04–1:08:06Jonaki is entering the forest.
1:08:06–1:08:10Murala, yes, it must be she.
1:08:10–1:08:12Like a tender shoot cut from its stem.
1:08:12–1:08:17The heat of long, harsh grief has dried the flower of her heart.
1:08:17–1:08:20As autumn heat dries the leaf of a ketoki bud.
1:08:20–1:08:24Her pale, wasted body has withered.
1:08:24–1:08:27End of the interlude.
1:08:27–1:08:33Entercita, absorbed in gathering flowers.
1:08:33–1:08:39During the cry, she is gradually filled with compassion and anxiety.
1:08:39–1:08:46Danger! Danger! Is that the voice of my dear friend Vasanti?
1:08:46–1:08:53Long ago Queen Sita reared him from infancy, feeding him with her own hand the tender tips
1:08:53–1:08:59of shalaki leaves she had gathered, the little elephant who would stand impatiently before
1:08:59–1:09:03her. What has happened to him?
1:09:03–1:09:10He was playing in the river with his mate, when a wild elephant in rut shamelessly attacked
1:09:10–1:09:11him.
1:09:11–1:09:17Distraught, moving forward a few steps.
1:09:17–1:09:22She acts as though memory returns, disolate.
1:09:22–1:09:25She feints,
1:09:25–1:09:28Enter Tamasa.
1:09:28–1:09:31My lord, save my little son, save him.
1:09:31–1:09:37Above the sight of Panchavati has brought those long familiar words back to my unfortunate lips.
1:09:38–1:09:42Ah my lord, to Mara daughter, please take hold of yourself.
1:09:44–1:09:46Noble chariot, hold here.
1:09:47–1:09:51Recovering consciousness suddenly agitated.
1:09:53–1:09:55Smiling and weeping at once.
1:09:55–1:10:02Why does this human voice, deep and sweet, as the low rumble of a rain-filled cloud, flood
1:10:02–1:10:06my ears and suddenly throw unfortunate me into such turmoil?
1:10:06–1:10:09Tamasa, daughter.
1:10:09–1:10:12Like a peahen hearing distant thunder.
1:10:12–1:10:16How can a woman such as you become so agitated and eager?
1:10:16–1:10:19Over a sound so indistinct and uncertain.
1:10:19–1:10:23Sita, holy lady, why call it indistinct?
1:10:23–1:10:25It can only be the voice of my lord.
1:10:25–1:10:27I know his voice.
1:10:27–1:10:28Tomasa.
1:10:28–1:10:33I have heard that the king of the Ichwaku line has come to Janasthana to punish a Shudra
1:10:33–1:10:35who is practicing austerities.
1:10:35–1:10:36Sita.
1:10:36–1:10:41It is fortunate that the king has not abandoned the duties of kingship.
1:10:41–1:10:42Voice offstage.
1:10:42–1:10:45Wear trees and animals too where our kin.
1:10:45–1:10:48Where I lived so long with my beloved.
1:10:48–1:10:51These are the mountain slopes of the Godavari.
1:10:51–1:10:55filled with caves and cleft by rushing streams.
1:10:55–1:11:06Looking, she feigns into Thamasas' arms, supporting her.
1:11:06–1:11:15Aside, recovering, she falls at Thamasas' feet.
1:11:15–1:11:21God above, what is this, a body pale, wasted, and weak like the disk of the moon at dawn,
1:11:21–1:11:25Yet only his distinctive gentle and grave-bearing allows me to recognize him.
1:11:25–1:11:27Yes, it must be my lord.
1:11:27–1:11:28Hold me.
1:11:28–1:11:32Tamasa, daughter, please take hold of yourself.
1:11:32–1:11:36Voice offstage, the sight of Panchavati.
1:11:36–1:11:40Rekindles the fire of grief that has slept so long within my heart.
1:11:40–1:11:44But first unconsciousness closes around me like a shroud of dense smoke.
1:11:44–1:11:46Ah, beloved Jonaki.
1:11:46–1:11:50Tamasa, this is exactly what my teacher feared.
1:11:50–1:11:52Sita, how can this be possible?
1:11:53–1:11:58Voice offstage, ah my queen, my beloved companion in the Dandaka forest.
1:11:59–1:12:00Ah, princess of Videha.
1:12:01–1:12:07Sita, God above, as he takes my unfortunate name upon his lips, his blue lotus eyes roll back.
1:12:08–1:12:09He has fainted and fallen to the ground.
1:12:10–1:12:14How can I leave him stretched out on the lonely earth, friendless and helpless?
1:12:15–1:12:19Tamesa, save him, save him, give my lord his life back.
1:12:19–1:12:26Lovely daughter, only you have the power to restore the Lord of the world to life.
1:12:26–1:12:28The touch of your hand is dear to him.
1:12:28–1:12:33The entire burden rests upon that alone.
1:12:33–1:12:36She exits in agitation.
1:12:36–1:12:42The scene opens to reveal Rama lying unconscious on the ground.
1:12:42–1:12:51Sita, weeping, carresses him. He begins to recover with an expression of supreme bliss.
1:12:51–1:12:58Let whatever must happen, happen. I obey the holy lady's command.
1:12:58–1:13:01With suppressed joy.
1:13:01–1:13:05It is as though the life of the whole world has returned.
1:13:05–1:13:11With fear and compassion, withdrawing her hand.
1:13:11–1:13:13Sitting Up.
1:13:13–1:13:16But what is happening?
1:13:16–1:13:21Is this the essence pressed from heavenly sandal leaves?
1:13:21–1:13:27Or a drop fallen from a moonbeam stop crushed in a press?
1:13:27–1:13:31Has someone poured upon my heart the juice?
1:13:31–1:13:37Of the divine life restoring herb and cool the life already burned?
1:13:37–1:13:41This touch is familiar from long ago.
1:13:41–1:13:47It restores consciousness and also brings deep intoxication.
1:13:47–1:13:51The instant it removes a faint born of pain,
1:13:51–1:13:56it produces the stillness of perfect bliss.
1:13:56–1:14:00Sita, this much is enough for now.
1:14:00–1:14:07Rama, is it possible that the Queen has come out of affection to help me?
1:14:07–1:14:13Sita, ah, why does my Lord speak of me now?
1:14:13–1:14:16Rama, let me look around.
1:14:16–1:14:21Sita, tamasa, come.
1:14:21–1:14:26The King will be angry if he sees me here without permission.
1:14:26–1:14:34Tamasa, but daughter, through Bhagyathi's grace you are invisible even to the gods.
1:14:34–1:14:38Sita, ah, yes.
1:14:38–1:14:40You speak the truth.
1:14:40–1:14:45Her voice breaking with anger.
1:14:45–1:14:48Her eyes fill.
1:14:48–1:14:51Beloved Janaki.
1:14:51–1:14:54Surely it was Beloved Janaki.
1:14:54–1:15:03Sita, my Lord, after all that has happened, such an address is deeply improper.
1:15:03–1:15:09And yet, when he speaks to unfortunate me with affection, and when I had not imagined even
1:15:09–1:15:17for a moment, that I would see him again even in another birth, why should I be so hard
1:15:17–1:15:20and merciless toward him?
1:15:20–1:15:25I know his heart, just as he knows mine.
1:15:25–1:15:29around, dis-elite.
1:15:29–1:15:31No.
1:15:31–1:15:34There is no one here.
1:15:34–1:15:39Tamesa, he abandoned me without cause, yet seeing him in this condition makes my heart
1:15:39–1:15:44experience feelings, I cannot myself understand.
1:15:44–1:15:47I understand, daughter, I understand.
1:15:47–1:15:49Chilled by despair.
1:15:49–1:15:51Bitter from his cruelty.
1:15:51–1:15:55Almost numb from meeting him after long separation.
1:15:55–1:15:58Forgiving through your own goodness.
1:15:58–1:16:02Filled with profound sympathy for every misery of your husband.
1:16:02–1:16:03Melted by love.
1:16:03–1:16:08Your heart is all these things in a single instant.
1:16:08–1:16:10My Queen.
1:16:10–1:16:14Your touch is forgiveness itself.
1:16:14–1:16:17Cool and moist with love.
1:16:17–1:16:22Present, despite everything, to give me joy.
1:16:22–1:16:27But Queen of my heart, where are you?
1:16:27–1:16:31With rising compassion and anxiety.
1:16:31–1:16:36My Lord's sorrowful words about Sita are filled with deep affection and overflowing with the
1:16:36–1:16:38bliss of love.
1:16:38–1:16:43When I believe them, it seems my birth has been fulfilled, though the arrow of unjust abandonment
1:16:43–1:16:45remains terribly sharp.
1:16:45–1:16:49Rama, but what would beloved Jonaki be doing here?
1:16:49–1:16:53This is only Rama's pure delusion, the fruit of wishful imagining strengthened by long
1:16:53–1:16:55habit.
1:16:55–1:16:58Voice Offstage, Danger
1:16:58–1:16:59Danger
1:16:59–1:17:03Long ago Queen Sita reared him from infancy, feeding him with her own hand the tender tips
1:17:03–1:17:08of shalaki leaves she had gathered, the little elephant, who would stand impatiently before
1:17:08–1:17:09her.
1:17:09–1:17:12Rama, what has happened to him?
1:17:12–1:17:14Voice Offstage, again.
1:17:14–1:17:17He was playing in the river with his mate.
1:17:17–1:17:24a wild elephant in rut shamelessly attacked him. Cita, who will protect him now?
1:17:24–1:17:31He rises. Enter Vasanthi in alarm.
1:17:31–1:17:37Where is the villain who dared attack my beloved's little son and his mate?
1:17:37–1:17:41Vasanthi, is this King Ragan and Dana?
1:17:41–1:17:45Ah, this is my dear friend Vasanti.
1:17:45–1:17:48Victory to the king.
1:17:48–1:17:50Looking.
1:17:50–1:17:55Why, this is Vasanti, the queen's dear friend.
1:17:55–1:18:00Quickly, my lord, quickly.
1:18:00–1:18:05From here, go beyond Jatayu peak and descend toward the Godavari by Seetra's Ford,
1:18:05–1:18:08there you will see the queen's little son.
1:18:08–1:18:10Ah, father Jatayu.
1:18:10–1:18:13Without you Janasthana is empty.
1:18:13–1:18:18Ah, these reminders tear open the tender core of the heart.
1:18:18–1:18:23This way, my lord, this way.
1:18:23–1:18:29Holy lady, truly even the forest divinities cannot see me.
1:18:29–1:18:34Dear daughter, Mendekeen's power is far greater than that of all other divinities.
1:18:34–1:18:37Do not be anxious.
1:18:37–1:18:40They all move.
1:18:40–1:18:42Then we shall follow behind them.
1:18:43–1:18:46Holy Godavari, I bow to you.
1:18:48–1:18:50Looking!
1:18:51–1:18:56Rejoice, my lord! The Queen's little son has defeated the Wild Elephant and stands victorious beside his mate.
1:18:57–1:19:01Rammer, victory to him. May he live long.
1:19:02–1:19:04Cedar, our how large he has grown.
1:19:05–1:19:08Rammer, my Queen, how fortunate you are.
1:19:08–1:19:14Beloved wife, the son of yours, who once tore the larvae leaf from behind your ear,
1:19:14–1:19:21with the tips of new-sprouting teeth, smooth as lotus petals, has today defeated an elephant in
1:19:21–1:19:27rut. Clearly the good fortune of his childhood still attends him. Cedar may he live long,
1:19:27–1:19:32and from this day never be separated from his tender-hearted mate. Rammer, look,
1:19:32–1:19:37friend for Santi, look, the boy has nearly learned the art of honoring his beloved.
1:19:37–1:19:43While chewing a mouthful of lotus dork uprooted in play, he pours ease to spray into her
1:19:43–1:19:46mouth with his water-beaded trunk.
1:19:46–1:19:48Water fragrant with a newly fallen lotus.
1:19:48–1:19:53But he has not yet learned, when they rest, to show proper care.
1:19:53–1:19:56By shading her with a straight-stemmed lotus leaf.
1:19:56–1:20:02Tamesa, seeing him so grown makes me think of Kusha and Lava.
1:20:02–1:20:05After all this time, what must they look like?
1:20:05–1:20:08They are just like this.
1:20:08–1:20:13How unfortunate I am, to have been torn so cruelly not only from my husband, but from
1:20:13–1:20:16my sons as well.
1:20:16–1:20:19So it was written by fate.
1:20:19–1:20:23What is the use of bearing sons if my lord can never kiss their faces, faces like two
1:20:23–1:20:29fresh lotuses, bright with a few tender white teeth, just emerging, innocent childhood laughter,
1:20:29–1:20:33lisping speech, and hair gathered in top knots?
1:20:33–1:20:35May the gods be gracious.
1:20:35–1:20:41Tamesa, the mere memory of my sons fills my breasts with milk, and with their father before
1:20:41–1:20:46me, for a moment I feel as though I have returned to the world of the living.
1:20:46–1:20:48What can one say?
1:20:48–1:20:54A child is the furthest limit of love and the root of the deepest bond between parents.
1:20:54–1:20:58Because a child is the shared object of both spouse's love.
1:20:58–1:21:02It is a knot of joy that binds their hearts together.
1:21:02–1:21:07My Lord, look there as well. That same peacock sits like a joiled crown on the high branch
1:21:07–1:21:13of a cadamber tree, calling to his mate. Having just completed his incomparable festive
1:21:13–1:21:19tandaver dance, he has spread the soft feathers of his tail.
1:21:19–1:21:26Harise Phil, in wonder. It is the same one.
1:21:26–1:21:31Dear son, may every blessing be yours.
1:21:31–1:21:34Yes, so be it.
1:21:34–1:21:38I remember you with a father's affection.
1:21:38–1:21:44My simple-hearted wife made you dance as though you were her child.
1:21:44–1:21:49Clapping her hands and rolling her eyes to make you turn in circles.
1:21:49–1:21:53Her pupils revolved like wheels.
1:21:53–1:21:59And in the skillful quiver of her brows appeared every movement of the Tandava.
1:21:59–1:22:05Ah, even animals recognized those they knew long ago.
1:22:05–1:22:15This cadamba tree, now in bloom, was planted from seed by my beloved queen.
1:22:15–1:22:19Looking, her eyes fill.
1:22:19–1:22:22How keen my lord's memory is.
1:22:22–1:22:26And surely the peacock remembers her.
1:22:26–1:22:31So he regards the tree as his own brother.
1:22:31–1:22:34Let your majesty sit here for a moment.
1:22:34–1:22:37This is the stone seat in the banana grove.
1:22:37–1:22:40Where you and your beloved wife used to rest.
1:22:40–1:22:46Cedar fed the foreens so much grass, that they would not let her leave.
1:22:46–1:22:50He said saleswear and weeps.
1:22:50–1:22:54I cannot bear to look at this.
1:22:54–1:22:59Friend Vasanti, what are you doing to my lord, and to me, by showing all this?
1:22:59–1:23:05Above, here is my lord, the same husband, the same forest of Puntavati, the same friend
1:23:05–1:23:09Visanti, the same woodland along the Godavari that witnessed our countless intimate moments,
1:23:09–1:23:13the same trees, birds, and animals that were like our children.
1:23:13–1:23:17All are before my eyes, yet for unfortunate me they have ceased to exist.
1:23:17–1:23:21How completely my world has overturned!
1:23:21–1:23:25Friend Cedar, do you not see Rama's condition?
1:23:25–1:23:28When his body was fresh as a blue lotus petal.
1:23:28–1:23:30He was a festival for the eyes.
1:23:30–1:23:35Even after one had gazed to the heart's content, he seemed new every moment.
1:23:35–1:23:39Now nearly senseless, at once pale and dark.
1:23:39–1:23:42So weakened by grief that he is difficult to recognize.
1:23:42–1:23:45He still gives joy to the eyes.
1:23:45–1:23:49I see, friend. I see.
1:23:49–1:23:55Daughter, continue to gaze upon your beloved for a long time.
1:23:55–1:23:57She continues to gaze.
1:23:58–1:24:02My Lord, who would believe that He could live without me and I without Him?
1:24:02–1:24:07Between falling tears, let me look at my beloved Lord a little longer.
1:24:07–1:24:09Seeing Him is like receiving a new birth.
1:24:10–1:24:14Weeping with affection, she embraces Sita.
1:24:16–1:24:19A swelling flood of tears born of joy and sorrow
1:24:19–1:24:22is released from your eyes, widened with longing.
1:24:22–1:24:26Your bright, sweet, innocent gaze, flowing with love,
1:24:26–1:24:30Bades the lord of your heart like a stream of milk.
1:24:30–1:24:34Sitting, her eyes fill,
1:24:34–1:24:38Pretending not to hear,
1:24:38–1:24:40Aside,
1:24:40–1:24:43Allowed,
1:24:43–1:24:46He begins to weep.
1:24:46–1:24:50Let the trees offer a welcome of honey-dripping flowers and fruit.
1:24:50–1:24:58Let the forest wind carry the full fragrance of newly opened lotuses and let the birds begin a sweet unbroken song a full voice
1:24:59–1:25:02For King Rama himself has returned to visit this forest
1:25:02–1:25:06Rama come friend for Santi shall we sit here?
1:25:06–1:25:10For Santi your Majesty. I hope Prince Lakshmana is well
1:25:11–1:25:12Rama
1:25:12–1:25:19May Thelae used to give water seed and grass with her lotus hands to these trees birds and deer
1:25:19–1:25:24Seeing them again, I am transformed as though my heart were melting and ready to burst into a flood.
1:25:24–1:25:29For Santi, but your Majesty, I asked where the Prince Lakshmana is well.
1:25:29–1:25:33Ramar, R, a your Majesty, eh, how cold the address.
1:25:33–1:25:38She asks only after Sermitri's welfare, yet her voice is choked with sobs.
1:25:38–1:25:44She must know what happened to Cetir. Yes, the Prince is well.
1:25:44–1:25:46She faints.
1:25:46–1:25:52Our, my lord, why did you become so cruel in the end?
1:25:52–1:25:56Cedar, friend for Santi, how can you speak to him like that?
1:25:56–1:26:01My lord deserves compassion from everyone, most of all from my dear friend.
1:26:01–1:26:05For Santi, you are my life, my second heart.
1:26:05–1:26:09Moonlight to my eyes, nectar to my limbs.
1:26:09–1:26:12With countless hunted words like these.
1:26:12–1:26:18You enchanted that innocent girl. But enough. What is the use of saying more?
1:26:18–1:26:23To Marcer, naturally, she is struck speechless, even driven nearly mad.
1:26:23–1:26:28Rammer, friend, please take hold of yourself.
1:26:28–1:26:30Recovering.
1:26:30–1:26:34But why did your Majesty perform that unspeakable deed?
1:26:34–1:26:38Cedar, stop. Friend Vasanti, stop.
1:26:38–1:26:41Rammer, because of the people's reproach.
1:26:41–1:26:44Vasanti, what cause the reproach?
1:26:44–1:26:48Rammer, only the people know.
1:26:48–1:26:51It is far too late for reproach now.
1:26:51–1:26:54Vasanti, cruel man.
1:26:54–1:26:57They say you value reputation.
1:26:57–1:26:59But what greater infamy could there be than this?
1:26:59–1:27:04Do you understand what became of that doe-eyed woman in the forest?
1:27:04–1:27:07Tell me, my lord.
1:27:07–1:27:09Friend Vasanti, you are cruel and pitiless.
1:27:09–1:27:13You are feeding the fire of a man already burning in flames.
1:27:13–1:27:16To Marca, it is love and grief speaking.
1:27:16–1:27:21Rama, friend, what can be imagined in such a case?
1:27:21–1:27:25Her eyes, heavy with weariness from the child moving in her womb.
1:27:25–1:27:29Must have rolled like the eyes of a frightened yelling deer.
1:27:29–1:27:33Her body, tender as a lotus petal, or a mass of moonbeams.
1:27:33–1:27:37Must have been torn apart by wild beasts.
1:27:37–1:27:45My lord, I am alive, here, alive. Rama, ah, beloved Johnaki, where are you? Sita, God
1:27:45–1:27:49above, my lord too is calling out with all his voice.
1:27:49–1:27:57Daughter, this is beneficial. A grief-stricken person must try to let grief flow outward.
1:27:57–1:28:04Four. When flood water presses against a dam, it is resisted by releasing the water. And
1:28:04–1:28:09Weeping helps a heart oppressed by sorrow. Become able to endure.
1:28:10–1:28:15Especially for Deerama, whose world has now become dreadful in so many ways.
1:28:15–1:28:20He must protect the whole earth according to rule with the sharpest intelligence.
1:28:20–1:28:24While grief for his beloved dries his soul like a flower beneath summer heat.
1:28:25–1:28:29The fault of abandonment is his own, so lament brings no peace.
1:28:30–1:28:32Yet life stubbornly remains.
1:28:32–1:28:40Therefore weeping is surely a blessing. Rama, how terrible! In extreme agony the heart breaks,
1:28:40–1:28:47yet does not split. The ruined body reels, yet does not lose consciousness. The inner fire
1:28:47–1:28:53burns the limbs, yet does not reduce them to ash. Fate strikes the vital core, yet does
1:28:53–1:28:55not end life.
1:28:55–1:29:03Yes. That is the truth. Rama, people of the city and countryside. You would not allow
1:29:03–1:29:09the queen to remain in my house. Therefore I left her in the lonely forest, valuing her
1:29:09–1:29:14no more than a blade of grass, and without grieving. But these long familiar sights are
1:29:14–1:29:20utterly destroying me. So forgive this helpless weeping that continues even now.
1:29:20–1:29:24Tamasa, how deep is the roar of his ocean of grief?
1:29:24–1:29:29Vasanti, my lord, hold fast to courage before what has passed.
1:29:29–1:29:34Friend, what do you mean by courage?
1:29:34–1:29:39It is the twelfth year of this empty world without the queen.
1:29:39–1:29:44A world in which even her name has nearly vanished.
1:29:44–1:29:47And still Rama lives.
1:29:47–1:29:51Sita, my Lord's words are torturing me.
1:29:51–1:29:55Tamasa, yes, daughter.
1:29:55–1:30:03These are the words of your beloved, now tender with love, now harsh with grief.
1:30:03–1:30:08A stream of honey mixed with poison dripping into your ears.
1:30:08–1:30:12A side.
1:30:12–1:30:14A loud.
1:30:14–1:30:20Vasanti, have I not endured at last?
1:30:20–1:30:24The burning goat of sorrow in my heart.
1:30:24–1:30:30Piercing the vital core like the point of a heated arrow lodged unseen within.
1:30:30–1:30:33Or like a poisonous sting.
1:30:33–1:30:41Sita, I am so unfortunate that even now I continue to cause my Lord pain.
1:30:41–1:30:48Rama, though my heart had broken and grown numb, today, seeing the things dear and familiar
1:30:48–1:30:52to her, I was stunned again.
1:30:52–1:30:56Every remedy attempted with enormous effort.
1:30:56–1:31:02To restrain compassion awakened to a furious force failed within.
1:31:02–1:31:09The unspeakable transformation of consciousness burst outward in full flood.
1:31:09–1:31:14floodwater breaking a sand bank and flowing without restraint.
1:31:14–1:31:22Sita, the blow of my lord's cruel, ceaselessly surging grief seems to have swept away the grief
1:31:22–1:31:28in my own heart, but left it beating wildly beyond control.
1:31:28–1:31:33Thus auntie, his condition is dreadful.
1:31:33–1:31:36I must try to distract him.
1:31:36–1:31:43Major Majesty now like to see the old familiar regions of Janasthana.
1:31:43–1:31:46They rise and move.
1:31:46–1:31:49In anguish.
1:31:49–1:31:52He feints.
1:31:52–1:31:55She feints.
1:31:55–1:32:00Sita rushes forward and touches his heart and head.
1:32:00–1:32:04He closes his eyes in delight.
1:32:04–1:32:07Yes, very well.
1:32:07–1:32:14Sita, what my friend thinks will entertain him will only inflame his grief.
1:32:14–1:32:19Vasanti, my lord, my lord.
1:32:19–1:32:25In this bower of vines you stood looking down the road toward home.
1:32:25–1:32:31She was delayed, enchanted by the swans on the Godavari.
1:32:31–1:32:39When she returned and saw you angry, she grew anxious and bowed with innocent folded hands
1:32:39–1:32:41like an unopened lotus.
1:32:41–1:32:50Sita, Basanti, you are very cruel, by making my unfortunate memory return again and again,
1:32:50–1:32:56you drive the knife still deeper into the tender core of my Lord's heart.
1:32:56–1:33:04Rama, heart hearted Jonaki, you appear everywhere, yet show me no mercy.
1:33:04–1:33:08My Queen, my heart is splitting.
1:33:08–1:33:12The bonds of my body are coming loose.
1:33:12–1:33:18The world is empty, and within I burn without cease.
1:33:18–1:33:24My soul, submerged in darkness, is drowning helplessly.
1:33:24–1:33:30Unconsciousness closes around me. What shall wretched Rama do?
1:33:30–1:33:36Sita, God above, my Lord has fainted again.
1:33:36–1:33:46Vasanti, my Lord, please regain consciousness. Sita, my Lord, you are the source of well-being
1:33:46–1:33:53for the whole mortal world, yet for you, afflicted by unceasing self-destructive calamity,
1:33:53–1:33:59The blessing of birth has been reversed, all because of unfortunate me.
1:33:59–1:34:02Ah, I am destroyed.
1:34:02–1:34:08Tamasa, daughter, regain consciousness.
1:34:08–1:34:13The touch of your hand alone will restore dear Rama to life.
1:34:13–1:34:18Vasanti, ah, he is still unconscious.
1:34:18–1:34:23Sita, dear friend, where are you?
1:34:23–1:34:26Consol the Lord of your life.
1:34:26–1:34:33Vasanti, what good fortune, dear Rama has regained consciousness.
1:34:33–1:34:46Rama, a touch, as though rubbing nearly ambrosia-alloyment, over every limb of my body, within and without,
1:34:46–1:34:53has suddenly restored me to life and spread through me in new and blissful
1:34:53–1:35:00faintness. Friend Vasanti, how fortunate you are.
1:35:00–1:35:11Relishing the touch. He takes her hand. Sita quickly frees her hand and steps back.
1:35:11–1:35:13How so?
1:35:13–1:35:19Rammer, friend, it means Jonagy has returned. What else could it mean?
1:35:19–1:35:23Vasanti, but my lord, dear Rammer, where is she?
1:35:23–1:35:26Rammer, look, she is here before me.
1:35:26–1:35:31Vasanti, why do you burn me with this cruel and meaningless ravings, cutting again into
1:35:31–1:35:34the vital core already scorched by grief for my dear friend?
1:35:34–1:35:40Cedar, I must withdraw, yet my lord's touch, so soft and cool with long, true affection,
1:35:40–1:35:44So soothing to long and cruel pain Seems to have farcened my hand there.
1:35:44–1:35:49It is at once damp with sweat, Weary, agitated, trembling, and helpless.
1:35:50–1:35:56Rammer, friend, why call it a raving? The hand I held at our wedding, wearing its bracelet.
1:35:57–1:36:01Long familiar, mind to touch whenever I wished, Cool as nectar.
1:36:02–1:36:07Cedar, my lord, this is that very hand. Now I understand.
1:36:07–1:36:16Rama, this very hand, her hand, soft as a larvaly stem, so beautiful that every other hand is
1:36:16–1:36:21measured against it. Cedar, God above, in the joy of my Lord's touch I have made a terrible
1:36:21–1:36:27mistake. Rama, friend Vasanti, my sense is a numb with joy and my mind so shaken that I
1:36:27–1:36:34cannot trust myself. Please touch her yourself and see. Vasanti, our, this is complete madness."
1:36:34–1:36:38looking at her dendily.
1:36:38–1:36:40Aside
1:36:40–1:36:44God above, what a mistake.
1:36:44–1:36:50I was so stunned that I suddenly released that pedal soft hand.
1:36:50–1:36:54My own hand trembled and sweated like hers.
1:36:54–1:37:01Sita, God above, I still have no control over myself.
1:37:01–1:37:09At once restless, numb, and confused, the pain is unbearable.
1:37:09–1:37:15TAMASA At your beloved's touch, poor child, sweat and
1:37:15–1:37:19goose flesh cover your limbs.
1:37:19–1:37:25You tremble like the trunk of a cadamba tree swaying in the wind.
1:37:25–1:37:29Wet with new rain and suddenly breaking into buds.
1:37:29–1:37:37Sita, ah, I am ashamed before Tamasa of this unruly body.
1:37:37–1:37:45She must be thinking, after such abandonment, such infatuation still.
1:37:45–1:37:47Looking around.
1:37:47–1:37:48What?
1:37:48–1:37:51Nowhere.
1:37:51–1:37:54Merciless Vadahi, have pity.
1:37:54–1:38:01Sita, surely I am merciless, to remain alive while seeing you in this condition.
1:38:01–1:38:06Rama, my queen, where are you?
1:38:06–1:38:09Do not leave me like this.
1:38:09–1:38:17Sita, ah, my lord, are you not saying the reverse of the truth?
1:38:17–1:38:23My lord, by your extraordinary strength, please put an end to this complete delusion.
1:38:23–1:38:25How could my dear friend be here?
1:38:25–1:38:27Rammer, clearly be she is not.
1:38:27–1:38:30Otherwise why would Vasanti herself not see her?
1:38:30–1:38:32Yes, it must be a dream.
1:38:32–1:38:34But no, I was not asleep.
1:38:34–1:38:36Where is sleep for Rama now?
1:38:36–1:38:41Surely that holy mental illusion, repeatedly produced by imagination, has closed around
1:38:41–1:38:42me again.
1:38:42–1:38:44Seetir, no!
1:38:44–1:38:47Crew me, I have confused my lord.
1:38:47–1:38:50Vasanti, my lord, look!
1:38:50–1:38:55The black-eyed chariot of the son of Pulashtir, destroyed by Jataryu.
1:38:55–1:39:00Before it, new-like beasts with monkey faces, now only skeletons.
1:39:00–1:39:04From here the enemy cut off Jataryu's wings with his sword,
1:39:04–1:39:09and rose into the sky with radiant cedar, like a cloud encircled by lightning.
1:39:09–1:39:12Intero
1:39:12–1:39:16My lord, father has been killed, and I am being carried away.
1:39:16–1:39:19Save me.
1:39:19–1:39:21springing up.
1:39:21–1:39:26Villain, thief of both father and Sita at once, where are you fleeing?
1:39:28–1:39:34My lord, you were the fire of annihilation to the Rakshasa race. Could any object of your wrath still remain alive?
1:39:35–1:39:38Ah, for a moment I went completely mad.
1:39:39–1:39:44Ah, but my calamity today is altogether different.
1:39:45–1:39:47Then a remedy was available.
1:39:47–1:39:54Heroic battle constantly diverted the mind and filled the world with wonder.
1:39:54–1:39:59I knew separation from my wife would end with the enemy's death.
1:39:59–1:40:05But how bitter it is to endure endless separation in silence.
1:40:05–1:40:10Endless. Ah, I am truly destroyed.
1:40:10–1:40:12destroyed.
1:40:12–1:40:20Ah, where friendship with the monkey king is useless, and the strength of the monkey's
1:40:20–1:40:31fame, where Jambavins wisdom shows no path, nor the wisdom of the wind god Sun, where
1:40:31–1:40:36even Nala, son of Vishvakarma, can build no bridge.
1:40:36–1:40:42Beloved, where are you? Beyond even the reach of saumetries' arrows.
1:40:42–1:40:47Sita, how dear the first separation seems now.
1:40:47–1:40:54Started, distraught, clinging to thamasa.
1:40:54–1:41:01Friend Vasanti, the sight of Rama now brings his friends only sorrow.
1:41:01–1:41:04How long shall I make you weep?
1:41:04–1:41:07Give me leave to depart.
1:41:07–1:41:12Sita, Tamasa, my lord is going.
1:41:12–1:41:18Tamasa, daughter, take hold of yourself.
1:41:18–1:41:24Whatever happens, we must now go to Bhagyarthi to perform the rites for the birth anniversary
1:41:24–1:41:26of Kusha and Lava.
1:41:26–1:41:28May they live forever.
1:41:28–1:41:36Sita, holy lady, please let me look upon Him one last moment, Him whom I shall never see
1:41:36–1:41:37again.
1:41:37–1:41:47Rama, to assist at the horse sacrifice, I now have another consecrated wife.
1:41:47–1:41:50Trembling.
1:41:50–1:41:52Breathing in relief.
1:41:52–1:41:59Embracing her with affection, smiles and tears.
1:41:59–1:42:04her head in embarrassment aside.
1:42:04–1:42:13My Lord Who. Rama, a golden image of Sita. Sita, my Lord, yes, now you are truly my husband.
1:42:13–1:42:18At last you have drawn from me the sharp point of the arrow of shame caused by abandonment.
1:42:18–1:42:25Rama, at least there, eyes forever drowned in tears find a little rest. Sita, blessed
1:42:25–1:42:29is the woman whom my Lord honours so greatly for His consolation, for that reason she is
1:42:29–1:42:31a source of hope to the world.
1:42:31–1:42:34Tamasa, daughter, you are praising yourself.
1:42:34–1:42:38Sita, the holy lady is teasing me.
1:42:38–1:42:43Vasanti, what caused you such great anguish has become grace toward us all.
1:42:43–1:42:46If you must go, go according to your duty.
1:42:46–1:42:50Sita, Vasanti has become my sworn enemy.
1:42:50–1:42:53Tamasa, daughter, come.
1:42:53–1:42:55Let us go.
1:42:55–1:42:57Desolate.
1:42:57–1:43:00Yes, I must go.
1:43:00–1:43:03To Marse, but how can you go when?
1:43:03–1:43:07However hard you try, your eyes, widened with longing.
1:43:07–1:43:11Remain fixed upon your beloved, and cannot be turned away.
1:43:11–1:43:14She fiends.
1:43:14–1:43:16I bow to my lord's lotus feet.
1:43:16–1:43:21Surely it is the fruit of incomparable merit that I saw him today.
1:43:21–1:43:25daughter, please take hold of yourself.
1:43:25–1:43:26Recovering
1:43:26–1:43:32How long is the full moon visible amid black clouds?
1:43:32–1:43:34How intricate this story is.
1:43:34–1:43:37The dominant emotion is one, sorrow.
1:43:37–1:43:41But as circumstances change, it assumes many forms.
1:43:41–1:43:45As water becomes whirlpool, bubble, or wave.
1:43:45–1:43:50Though in the end all are one thing, water alone.
1:43:50–1:43:58Rise, respectively, to Sita and Rama.
1:43:58–1:44:04Excent all, enter to young ascetics.
1:44:04–1:44:08Noble chariot, come here at once.
1:44:08–1:44:17Tamasa and Vasanti, may earth, the divine river, and the other goddesses like us.
1:44:17–1:44:22May the teacher who first employed poetic meter.
1:44:22–1:44:28May the sage Vasishta and his companion Arundhati.
1:44:28–1:44:33May all of them bless you and grant you lasting good fortune.
1:44:33–1:44:36End of Act 3.
1:44:36–1:44:39Interlude to Act 4.
1:44:39–1:44:47First ascetic, Sadataki, how beautiful Valmiki's hermitage looks, with all its decorations
1:44:47–1:44:50and the crowds of arriving guests.
1:44:50–1:44:52Look!
1:44:52–1:45:00A hermitage deer is drinking its fill of the cream left from sweet, warm milk rice.
1:45:00–1:45:04Prepared for his mate, who has just given birth.
1:45:04–1:45:11The smell of greens cooking with jujube fruit spreads through the air.
1:45:11–1:45:17With the faintest fragrance of rice and clarified butter.
1:45:17–1:45:18laughing.
1:45:18–1:45:23A heartfelt welcome to the guests, especially these old people, whose arrival gives us a
1:45:23–1:45:25holiday from our studies.
1:45:25–1:45:29First ascetic, so ditaki, your reverence for the elderly is entirely unprecedented.
1:45:29–1:45:35Bandayana, what is the name of the guest walking at the head of that company of old women?
1:45:35–1:45:36No more joking.
1:45:36–1:45:40You surely know that this is Vasishta, who has come from Rishesh Ringer's hermitage
1:45:40–1:45:44protecting King Dashrath's wives with Orundati leading them.
1:45:44–1:45:46Why ask such a foolish question?
1:45:46–1:45:48to act for.
1:45:48–1:45:50So the Turkey, what Vasishta?
1:45:50–1:45:53Bandayana, yes, of course.
1:45:53–1:45:58So the Turkey, I was certain he was a tiger or a wolf.
1:45:58–1:45:59What do you mean?
1:45:59–1:46:04So the Turkey, from the moment he arrived our poor little calf has been terrified.
1:46:04–1:46:08Bandayana, when a land guest arrives, a householder following the Vedic rule offers a welcome
1:46:08–1:46:12gift of meat by slaughtering a yearling calf, the bull, or a goat.
1:46:12–1:46:16According to the authors of the Dhamma Sutras that is righteousness.
1:46:16–1:46:20So the Taki, you have caught yourself in a contradiction.
1:46:20–1:46:24Bandayana, how?
1:46:24–1:46:27They turn.
1:46:27–1:46:29Accent both.
1:46:29–1:46:33When the venerable Vasishta arrived, a yearling calf was slaughtered.
1:46:33–1:46:36But when the royal sage Janaka came later today, Vamiki offered him only milk and
1:46:36–1:46:38curds, and the heifer was spared.
1:46:38–1:46:42Bandayana, the sage's rule applies to those who have not renounced meat.
1:46:42–1:46:44Janaka has given it up.
1:46:44–1:46:46So the Taki, why?
1:46:46–1:46:51Bandayana, the moment he heard of the reversal of Queen Sita's fortune, he became an ascetic.
1:46:51–1:46:55For several years he has been practicing austerities in the sacred grove of Shandradvipa.
1:46:55–1:46:57Interlude to act four.
1:46:57–1:46:59So the Taki, then why has he come here?
1:46:59–1:47:03Bandayana, to see his lifelong friend, the son of Prachettas.
1:47:03–1:47:05So the Taki, has he met his relatives?
1:47:05–1:47:09Bandayana, Vasishta has just sent Arun Dati to Queen Kosalia, so that she may meet the
1:47:09–1:47:11king of Videha.
1:47:11–1:47:14So the Taki, since the old people have gathered together, let us gather with our classmates
1:47:14–1:47:16and enjoy a holiday of games.
1:47:16–1:47:20Bandayana, there is the ancient royal sage, our teacher Jannaka.
1:47:20–1:47:23After bowing to the son of Prachetas and to Vasishta,
1:47:23–1:47:26he is seated beneath a tree outside the hermitage.
1:47:26–1:47:28In his heart grief, Vasita burns without cease,
1:47:28–1:47:31like fire eating an old tree from within.
1:47:31–1:47:33End of the interlude.
1:47:44–1:47:49Enter Arundhati, Kausalya and the Chamberlain.
1:47:49–1:48:00The wrong committed against my daughter, a vast and dreadful wrong, broke me and pierced my heart,
1:48:00–1:48:07and kindled a torrent of rage that, though old, remains forever new,
1:48:07–1:48:13cutting the vital core like the edge of a saw and never ceasing.
1:48:13–1:48:22How terrible! This wretched body, stripped by old age and unimaginable grief of every
1:48:22–1:48:30support, drained of substance and vitality by many austerities, month-long fasts, and
1:48:30–1:48:40mortification still refuses to prepare for death. It is unbelievable!
1:48:40–1:48:46Yet the sages say, those who take their own lives go to worlds of darkness where no sun
1:48:46–1:48:49shines.
1:48:49–1:48:57Even after so many years, the blows of my acute grief, openly manifested and filled with unceasing
1:48:57–1:49:03thought, are still fresh and do not diminish.
1:49:03–1:49:04Mother!
1:49:04–1:49:12Cita, born from the sacrificial altar, is this what life brought you?
1:49:12–1:49:18Such a reversal that one feels shame even to weep to the heart's content.
1:49:18–1:49:22Ah, daughter!
1:49:22–1:49:27I remember your childhood face.
1:49:27–1:49:37and crying for no reason. Two or three milk teeth shining like jasmine buds. Your first
1:49:37–1:49:47word stumbling and indistinct. Earth, you truly are hard as stone. She whose greatness should
1:49:47–1:49:56have been acknowledged by you yourself. And likewise by fire, the sages, the sister's
1:49:56–1:50:05wife, Gonga. Even by the sun god, teacher of Raghu's line,
1:50:05–1:50:13she whom you yourself gave birth to, a speech gives birth to true knowledge. Cruel earth,
1:50:13–1:50:18How could you endure the killing of your only daughter?
1:50:18–1:50:25Voice offstage, this way, holy lady, and your majesty.
1:50:25–1:50:31Janaka, ah, Grishtin is showing Orundotti the way.
1:50:31–1:50:35Whom did he call your majesty?
1:50:35–1:50:43Ah, can this be my dear friend, the lawful wife of King Dasharata, Causalia?
1:50:43–1:50:48Who would believe it?
1:50:48–1:50:54She who in Dasharata's palace was like royal fortune.
1:50:54–1:50:56Why sage like?
1:50:56–1:51:01She was royal fortune herself.
1:51:01–1:51:09been utterly transformed by the force of fate. A rare creature made of pure grief.
1:51:09–1:51:20Ah, what a reversal! Here is another terrible reversal in my own condition. Those who once
1:51:20–1:51:31were for me, a festival embodied, are now unbearable even to behold. As those
1:51:31–1:51:36You sult were being scattered upon a wound.
1:51:36–1:51:41But I am telling you that your family preceptor commanded you to go in person to meet the King
1:51:41–1:51:42of Videha.
1:51:42–1:51:45And for that very reason I was sent to you.
1:51:45–1:51:49Why this paralyzing hesitation at every step?
1:51:49–1:51:56Your Majesty, compose yourself and obey Vasishtha's command, that is all I beg.
1:51:56–1:52:01The mere thought of meeting the King of Medi-La on such an occasion makes all my sorrow surge
1:52:01–1:52:08up again at once. The strings of my heart are breaking. I cannot hold it steady.
1:52:08–1:52:14Indeed. A current of sorrow born from separation from dear kin may already flow with violent
1:52:14–1:52:21force, but the mere sight of a beloved friend makes it unbearable as though multiplied into
1:52:21–1:52:24a thousand streams.
1:52:24–1:52:30How can I face the royal sage after what happened to my beloved daughter-in-law?
1:52:30–1:52:39This is your honored relative, the mainstay of Jannaka's line, to whom the sage Yajnavalkya
1:52:39–1:52:43once imparted the whole knowledge of Brahman.
1:52:43–1:52:49Kassalia, there stands the royal sage, the joy of the great king's heart, the father
1:52:49–1:52:51of my beloved daughter-in-law.
1:52:51–1:52:57God above everything returns to me, when we celebrated that great wedding festival,
1:52:57–1:53:00and today, Lord, everything is ended.
1:53:00–1:53:01Anaka.
1:53:01–1:53:07Arundhati Surya Dvaja, King of Videha, bows to you.
1:53:07–1:53:14She through whom alone her husband, though himself an inexhaustible Treasury of Holiness,
1:53:14–1:53:16regards himself as pure.
1:53:16–1:53:20And who among all the teachers of old, is the Supreme Teacher?
1:53:20–1:53:27I bow to that holy lady, who is like the dawn, before whom the entire world, bows
1:53:27–1:53:34its head to the ground, and who promotes the welfare of the whole universe. Arindati, may
1:53:34–1:53:41your supreme radiance remain fierce, and may the God who burns beyond all dust purify you.
1:53:41–1:53:47Janaka, Krishnan is the mother of the protector of the people well?
1:53:47–1:53:51Asaid, Allowed,
1:53:51–1:53:57Sine. She faints and falls.
1:53:57–1:54:01This is mockery of us, merciless and sharp mockery.
1:54:01–1:54:09Royal Sage, the Queen is already plunged in profound sorrow because she has so long been unable to see dear Rama's moon-like face.
1:54:09–1:54:13Please do not increase her suffering with your anger.
1:54:13–1:54:15A terrible calamity befell Rama too.
1:54:15–1:54:23He was told that a malicious scandal was spreading among the citizens and because people of little understanding did not believe in the purification of the
1:54:23–1:54:26Ordeal by fire. He was forced to take the harshest measure
1:54:27–1:54:31Janka Gods above who is this fire that bears boast of purifying my daughter?
1:54:32–1:54:38Rama has already insulted us enough. How can anyone dare insult us further by saying such a thing?
1:54:38–1:54:40Arunthati it is entirely true
1:54:40–1:54:47Before my child, the word fire is merely a meaningless string of sounds. It is enough that she is Sita.
1:54:47–1:54:58My child, whether you were my daughter or my pupil, matters not at all. Your supreme purity itself awakens such affection in my heart.
1:54:58–1:55:04Whether one is a girl or a woman is irrelevant. You have won the praise of the whole world.
1:55:04–1:55:08It is worthy qualities in a good person that deserve honour.
1:55:08–1:55:10Not sex or age.
1:55:10–1:55:14Kausalya, ah, my wound is splitting open again.
1:55:14–1:55:20God above, what has happened now?
1:55:20–1:55:22Royal Sage, what else could happen?
1:55:22–1:55:26That King, that happiness, that pride in her children.
1:55:26–1:55:28Those days gone by.
1:55:28–1:55:33The instant she saw you, her friend, all memory surged up again.
1:55:33–1:55:37You can see how deeply this terrible event has shaken her.
1:55:37–1:55:42Even an aged mother's heart can be as tender as a flower.
1:55:42–1:55:48He sprinkles water from his water pot over her.
1:55:48–1:55:51Recovering.
1:55:51–1:55:54How base I have become.
1:55:54–1:55:57After seeing her again after so long,
1:55:57–1:56:05I could not even cast a loving glance upon my dear friend's beloved wife.
1:56:05–1:56:11Honoured kinsman, dear friend, my heart.
1:56:11–1:56:16My joy embodied the whole essence of life.
1:56:16–1:56:22My body's life breath and whatever was dearer still.
1:56:22–1:56:26What was the illustrious King Dasharat and not to me?
1:56:26–1:56:31Ah, is this truly causalia?
1:56:31–1:56:38If husband and wife ever quarreled in private, she would leave him and bring her complaint
1:56:38–1:56:46only to me, and whether she should remain angry or forgive him.
1:56:46–1:56:53The decision rested with me, but enough of such memories.
1:56:53–1:56:57They attacked my heart and burn it.
1:56:57–1:57:04Orendotti, ah, sigh suppressed within for so long have hardened his heart.
1:57:04–1:57:10Janaka, ah, my dear friend's wife.
1:57:10–1:57:12Chamberlain.
1:57:12–1:57:17At first fate was like a favorable friend.
1:57:17–1:57:21Following each of her wishes,
1:57:21–1:57:30Then came its sudden and merciless transformation, leaving her only anguish of heart.
1:57:30–1:57:37Causéia, Johnachy, my daughter, where are you?
1:57:37–1:57:44How clearly I remember that innocent lotus face adorned only by the radiance of marriage,
1:57:44–1:57:48with its pure smile in bloom.
1:57:48–1:57:56Child, brighten my lap again with those limbs lovelier than the first moonlight.
1:57:56–1:58:02The king always used to say, she is certainly the daughter-in-law of the Lord of Raghu's
1:58:02–1:58:09line, but my kinship with Janaka makes her my own youngest daughter.
1:58:09–1:58:12What your majesty says is exactly how it was.
1:58:12–1:58:18Though the king had five children, the enemy of Subahu was dearest of all.
1:58:18–1:58:23And though he had four daughters-in-law, Sita was no less a daughter than Shanta.
1:58:23–1:58:26Janka, ah, my dear friend King Dasarath.
1:58:26–1:58:30That is why in every way you were my equal.
1:58:30–1:58:31How can I forget you?
1:58:31–1:58:36They say the father of a bride must honour the bridegroom's family.
1:58:36–1:58:39But in my case it was exactly the reverse.
1:58:39–1:58:42You were always the one who pleased me.
1:58:42–1:58:45Fate took from me both a man such as you
1:58:45–1:58:48and the foundation of our kinship.
1:58:48–1:58:49Shame upon me.
1:58:49–1:58:51I must be a sinner.
1:58:51–1:58:55To remain alive in this dreadful, hell-like world.
1:58:55–1:58:58Kosalia, Janki, my child, what shall I do?
1:58:58–1:59:02My unfortunate life seems permanently fastened by some unbreakable mortar.
1:59:02–1:59:05It will not leave this wretched body.
1:59:05–1:59:08Arunthati, compose yourself. You are a king's daughter.
1:59:08–1:59:12For now, do your best to restrain your psalms.
1:59:12–1:59:18And one thing more, do you not remember what your family preceptor said at Rishishanga's hermitage?
1:59:18–1:59:24He declared firmly that what happened was unavoidable, but that in the end all would be well.
1:59:24–1:59:29When all our dreams have been shattered, how can that be possible?
1:59:29–1:59:32A commotion offstage.
1:59:32–1:59:35All listen.
1:59:35–1:59:37Do you then believe he spoke falsely?
1:59:37–1:59:44You are a princess and the mother of Maitikshatriyas. Do not think otherwise it had to happen.
1:59:44–1:59:49Never doubt the words of Brahmins, who have directly perceived the light.
1:59:49–1:59:56Aspicious Lakshmi dwells in their speech. No word of theirs is false.
1:59:56–2:00:04Today is a holiday from study. The noise must be children at play.
2:00:04–2:00:06Looking!
2:00:06–2:00:09How easy it is to find happiness in childhood.
2:00:09–2:00:21Ah, who is that among them, whose exquisitely lovely, soft, and delicate limbs, adorned with the beauty of dear Rama, soothe even the pain in my eyes?
2:00:21–2:00:25Aside with tears of joy.
2:00:25–2:00:31This must be the fruit of that secret know of that nectar, which Bhagirthi revealed.
2:00:31–2:00:38I only do not know which of the two he is Kusha or Lava. May they both live forever.
2:00:38–2:00:47A dark radiance like the petal of a blue lotus. A head adorned with lovely locks.
2:00:47–2:00:52Beauty ornamented by virtue, as though.
2:00:52–2:00:59His very presence ennobles the whole company of boys.
2:00:59–2:01:03He looks like Ragoon and Dana.
2:01:03–2:01:06As though my dear child had become a boy again.
2:01:06–2:01:12Who is he, the mere sight of whom?
2:01:12–2:01:15Is Ambrosial Barn to my eyes?
2:01:15–2:01:22Chamberlain, I think the boy is a clatriar student of sacred learning.
2:01:22–2:01:34Janaka, surely so, for he wears two quivers upon his back, the arrows touching his top
2:01:34–2:01:36knot.
2:01:36–2:01:44Upon his chest are the marks of his lineage, lines of sacred ash, and a black antelope
2:01:44–2:01:46skin.
2:01:46–2:01:55His lower garment is dyed with madder, and bound by a cord of merver grass.
2:01:55–2:02:03In one hand he carries a bow and rosary, in the other a staff of sacred figwood.
2:02:03–2:02:10Orendotti, where do you suppose this boy has come from?
2:02:10–2:02:16Orendotti, but I myself am newly arrived here.
2:02:16–2:02:23Janaka, Krishtin, my curiosity knows no bounds.
2:02:23–2:02:27Goa wants to Valmiki and ask him.
2:02:27–2:02:34Tell the boy as well that some elders wish to see him.
2:02:34–2:02:36Exit!
2:02:36–2:02:38As you command.
2:02:38–2:02:41Why do you think he will come when summoned?
2:02:41–2:02:46Will not his conduct be as courteous as his appearance?
2:02:46–2:02:55What is this? Having listened respectfully to Grishton, the boy is dismissing the sages,
2:02:55–2:02:58other pupils and coming here.
2:02:58–2:03:11Gazing at him for a long time. Enter Lava. He thinks, approaching respectfully,
2:03:11–2:03:15What is happening to me?
2:03:15–2:03:19Only those who see truth can understand.
2:03:19–2:03:28The measure of his real power, cooled by modesty and softened by innocence.
2:03:28–2:03:31No one else can.
2:03:31–2:03:39This boy has the power to stir my heart, made immovable by despair.
2:03:39–2:03:47a tiny piece of magnet, moves a massive lump of iron.
2:03:47–2:03:55Lava, without knowing their names and stations, how should I salute these noble elders?
2:03:55–2:04:02There is one man atort by the elders in which there can be no fault.
2:04:02–2:04:07Lava bows his head in turn at the feet of each of you.
2:04:07–2:04:14Karandhati and Janaka. Good child, may you live long.
2:04:14–2:04:18Child, may you live a long life.
2:04:18–2:04:23She takes Lava onto her lap, aside.
2:04:23–2:04:26She takes him.
2:04:26–2:04:31She lifts his jen and looks, with tears and wonder.
2:04:31–2:04:36Come, child, how beautiful my fortune is.
2:04:36–2:04:41Not only is my lap filled, at last my dream has been fulfilled.
2:04:41–2:04:45Kasselja, child come into my lap for a moment too.
2:04:45–2:04:46Ah!
2:04:46–2:04:52Not only in the form of his dark radiant body, like a newly opened blue lotus, but in his
2:04:52–2:04:58voice too he resembles deer Rama, like the long low call of a swan whose throat is colored
2:04:58–2:05:00by eating lotus filaments.
2:05:00–2:05:03His body must be the same to the touch.
2:05:03–2:05:08as the heart of a fully opened lotus. Child, let me see your face.
2:05:08–2:05:15Royal Sage, do you not see? Look carefully. Is it not exactly like the moon face of your
2:05:15–2:05:21daughter, my daughter-in-law? Janaka. Yes, friend, I see it. I certainly see it.
2:05:21–2:05:28Kasoya. Ah, my heart is so confused that amidst scattered thoughts I am speaking wildly.
2:05:28–2:05:34Janaka! In this boy appear my daughter and Rama, a living image of the air of Raghu's
2:05:34–2:05:41line in that very form. The same radiance, the same voice, the same natural manner, even
2:05:41–2:05:48the same stainless splendor. Creator, why does my agitated mind run after this mirage?
2:05:48–2:05:53Child, is your mother alive? Do you have any memory of your father?
2:05:53–2:05:56No, I do not.
2:05:56–2:05:58Who cares for you?
2:05:58–2:06:00Lord Valmiki.
2:06:00–2:06:03Come, child, you must tell your story here.
2:06:03–2:06:05That is all I know.
2:06:05–2:06:13Soldiers, Prince Chandraketu commands that no one enter the Hermitage grounds without permission.
2:06:13–2:06:20Orondotti and Jinnaka are, Prince Chandraketu has arrived while guarding the sacrificial horse.
2:06:20–2:06:22We shall soon see him.
2:06:22–2:06:25What an auspicious day this is.
2:06:25–2:06:33Dear Lakshmana's little son is issuing a command the very syllables sound sweet as drops of nectar in my ears
2:06:34–2:06:36Sir, who is this person named Shagaketu?
2:06:36–2:06:41Have you heard the names of Dashirata's sons Rama and Lakshmana?
2:06:43–2:06:45They are the heroes of the Ramayana
2:06:46–2:06:48Laughing
2:06:49–2:06:50Certainly
2:06:50–2:06:54Lava then how could I not have heard their names?
2:06:55–2:07:01Janaka, this Chandraketu is Lokshmona's son.
2:07:01–2:07:08Lava, then he must be Amila's son and the grandson of the King of Matilla.
2:07:08–2:07:14Orandotti, clearly the boy knows the story well.
2:07:14–2:07:21Janaka, since you know the story so thoroughly, answer some questions.
2:07:21–2:07:29What are the names of the children of Dasharata's other sons, and which wives bore them?
2:07:29–2:07:35Lava, neither I nor anyone else has heard that part of the story.
2:07:35–2:07:40Janaka has the poet not composed it.
2:07:40–2:07:46Lava he has, but it has not yet been made public.
2:07:46–2:07:55portion newly enriched with dramatic flavor has been prepared for performance.
2:07:55–2:08:01The Great Sage wrote the manuscript with his own hand and sent it to Barata, author of the
2:08:01–2:08:06treatise on the threefold art of music.
2:08:06–2:08:09Janaka, for what purpose?
2:08:09–2:08:14It is said that Barata will have it performed by the Apsaraces. Janaka, all this only
2:08:14–2:08:18increases my curiosity. Valmeke is extremely careful about it. To ensure that no mishap
2:08:18–2:08:20befalls the pupils carrying the manuscript to Barada's hermitage, he has sent my brother
2:08:20–2:08:25with him, armed with bow and arrows. Kosalia, you have a brother too? Lava, I have an excellent
2:08:25–2:08:27brother named Kusha.
2:08:27–2:08:34That is, he is older than you. Lava, yes, by order of birth he is my elder. Janaka,
2:08:34–2:08:42are you twins? Lava, certainly. Janaka, tell me, how does the main story end?
2:08:42–2:08:45by the citizens malicious scandal, the king banished Queen Sita, born from the sacrificial ground,
2:08:45–2:08:49to the forest. When her labor pains began, Lakshmana left her alone in the desolate wilderness
2:08:49–2:08:52and returned. Kausalya, my innocent moon-faced daughter, what dreadful reversal of fate suddenly
2:08:52–2:08:56fell upon your flower-soft body when you were all alone. Janaka, child. When at once you
2:08:56–2:09:00had to contend with humiliation, the terrible forest, and the pains of childbirth, and
2:09:00–2:09:03packs of flesh-eating beasts, surrounded you on every side. Then interior thoughts
2:09:03–2:09:06must surely have centered upon me. Your final refuge.
2:09:06–2:09:09to Arunthiti.
2:09:09–2:09:12Who are these two noble persons?
2:09:12–2:09:18Lava looks at them with reverence, concern and curiosity.
2:09:18–2:09:21Terrified.
2:09:21–2:09:24This is Kosloya and this is Janaka.
2:09:24–2:09:25Janaka.
2:09:25–2:09:31Ah, how depraved the citizens were and how thoughtless King Rama, as I consider the
2:09:31–2:09:38terrible blow. Of this thunderbolt like calamity, the time has come to kindle my wrath. With
2:09:38–2:09:40my bower with a curse.
2:09:40–2:09:41Kassalia.
2:09:41–2:09:49Arndadi protect us. Please try to calm the angry king. Lava. For an honorable man whose
2:09:49–2:09:56dignity has been insulted, this alone is the proper form of revenge. Arndadi. But your
2:09:56–2:10:04Your Majesty Rama is your son and the unfortunate citizens are entitled to protection.
2:10:04–2:10:08Enter a noisy group of school boys.
2:10:08–2:10:16They crowd around Lava, seize his hands and antelope skin and pull him.
2:10:16–2:10:26With curiosity, reluctance and curtsy, he goes hurriedly with them.
2:10:26–2:10:36Then let neither side show fear of Raghunandana. After all, he is my priceless son. And many
2:10:36–2:10:46among the citizens are old and weak. Brahmins, children and women.
2:10:46–2:10:53Schoolboys, young master. We had heard in village after village about the appearance
2:10:53–2:11:01of a marvellous creature called a horse, and now we have seen one with our own eyes.
2:11:01–2:11:09Lava, a horse, is mentioned both in the scriptures concerning sacrificial animals and in the
2:11:09–2:11:12science of war.
2:11:12–2:11:16Tell me, what sort of creature is it?
2:11:16–2:11:21Schoolboys, listen, then.
2:11:21–2:11:30it is a great tale. Which it keeps swishing without stop. Its neck is long, and it has
2:11:30–2:11:44for hooves. No more and no fewer. It eats grass and passes droppings. The size of mangos.
2:11:44–2:11:47But enough description.
2:11:47–2:11:49It is running away.
2:11:49–2:11:50Quick!
2:11:50–2:11:51Come!
2:11:51–2:11:58Lava, my elders can see that I am being dragged away.
2:11:58–2:12:02Orondotty and Janaka, go.
2:12:02–2:12:06Child, satisfy your curiosity.
2:12:06–2:12:16Causalia, holy lady, if we do not watch him, may he live forever, I shall feel cheated.
2:12:16–2:12:20Come, let us see him go from another place.
2:12:20–2:12:24Enter the Chamberlain.
2:12:24–2:12:29The group of elders exits.
2:12:29–2:12:32Re-enter the school boys.
2:12:32–2:12:39The little rogue has gone so far so quickly that he can scarcely be seen now. Chamberlain.
2:12:39–2:12:44Valmiki has replied that you will learn the answer to your question yourselves at the proper
2:12:44–2:12:45time.
2:12:45–2:12:46Janaka.
2:12:46–2:12:50It must be a matter of the utmost importance.
2:12:50–2:12:56Arndadi friend Kausalya Grishdan, come let us go in person to see the son of Prachatas.
2:12:56–2:12:57So, Abul.
2:12:57–2:13:01Young master, look at this marvelous object.
2:13:01–2:13:02Lava.
2:13:02–2:13:07At first sight I understand, it is the horse of the Ashvameda sacrifice.
2:13:07–2:13:11So boys, how did you know?
2:13:11–2:13:13Jealousy aside.
2:13:13–2:13:14Fools!
2:13:14–2:13:17You have studied that part of the Veda and still do not understand?
2:13:17–2:13:20It must have guards, hundreds of soldiers in each division, bearing armor, maces or
2:13:20–2:13:21arrows.
2:13:21–2:13:23The army we see here is almost exactly of that kind.
2:13:23–2:13:25If you do not believe me, ask them yourselves.
2:13:25–2:13:28SHO will be a wise soldiers, why is this horse wandering under guard?
2:13:28–2:13:31Lava, the Ashvameda is the final test of the supreme sovereignty of a world conquering
2:13:31–2:13:32Chetria.
2:13:32–2:13:34to humiliate every other Kshatriya.
2:13:34–2:13:38Fired with excitement.
2:13:38–2:13:43Enter an angry and arrogant officer.
2:13:43–2:13:45Laughing.
2:13:45–2:13:49He strings his bow.
2:13:49–2:13:54All move off at a pace suited to them.
2:13:54–2:13:58This is less a horse than a banner of victory or a battle challenge.
2:13:58–2:14:02proclaiming the one true hero of all seven worlds.
2:14:02–2:14:06The enemy of the race of the ten-headed one.
2:14:06–2:14:07Lava.
2:14:07–2:14:10Ah, that is a challenge to battle.
2:14:10–2:14:13Schoolboys, what can we say?
2:14:13–2:14:16The young master truly is very learned.
2:14:16–2:14:22Lava, soldiers, you boast as though no kshatriya remained anywhere on earth.
2:14:22–2:14:23Voice offstage.
2:14:23–2:14:28What value has any other kshatriya before the Universal Emperor?
2:14:28–2:14:36over, shame on you, villains. If they are kshatriyas, then kshatriyas they certainly are. Whom do
2:14:36–2:14:43you think you can frighten? But the time for words is past. Now I shall attack, and seize
2:14:43–2:14:51that banner. Boys, surround them, rain-clods of earth upon them, and drag the horse here.
2:14:51–2:14:57Let the poor creature roam freely with the deer of the hermitage. Officer, shame on
2:14:57–2:15:04you, villain. What did you say? The king's army is ruthless and severe. It will not
2:15:04–2:15:11tolerate insolent words even from a child. Before Prince Chandraketu, destroyer of enemies,
2:15:11–2:15:16arrives in his eagerness to visit this famous forest, flee quickly through that grove of
2:15:16–2:15:23trees. Schoolboys, young master, forget the horse. The army is coming, brandishing
2:15:23–2:15:30weapons and threatening you, and the hermitage is far away. Come, let us run from here at
2:15:30–2:15:38once. Lava, what do I care if they brandish their weapons? My terrible bow is ready to
2:15:38–2:15:45yawn. It is not a weapon, but the laughing mouth of death. Greedily swallowing its prey,
2:15:45–2:15:52mad and slow, rumbling like a cloud. While its tongue, the bow string, licks its sharp
2:15:52–2:16:02front teeth. End of Act 4. Enter Chandrakethu in a chariot driven by Sumantra, bow in hand,
2:16:02–2:16:12filled with wonder, delight and apprehension. Soldiers. At last, reinforcements have arrived
2:16:12–2:16:20to help us. A chariot yoked to swift horses. Driven at speed by Sumantra. With the Kovidara
2:16:20–2:16:28Abhanna flying above. Having heard the news of battle, Chandraketu is coming. Chandraketu,
2:16:28–2:16:36look, Sumantra, look. At the forefront of the battle stands a boy warrior, showering a blizzard
2:16:36–2:16:42of arrows upon the army. His five locks stream in the wind, his boasting sounds without
2:16:42–2:16:51pause. And anger has flushed his handsome face. This is astonishing. A single boy, raised
2:16:51–2:16:59by ascetics, encircled by so vast an army, like some new, unknown shoot of Raghu's line,
2:16:59–2:17:07loses a thousand fiery arrows. From a bow that thunders terribly, and splits the temples
2:17:07–2:17:15of war elephants. The sight sets my curiosity ablaze. Sumantra, noble prince, may you live
2:17:15–2:17:23long. As I look upon this boy whose power surpasses, both gods and demons, and whose beauty is
2:17:23–2:17:32its equal. I am reminded of Rama, bow in hand. Setting out to destroy the enemies of Vishwamitra's
2:17:32–2:17:41chandraketu, my heart recoils in disgust to see so many. Attack one solitary person. He
2:17:41–2:17:48is a boy and utterly alone. While a vast army surrounds him on every side, weapons interlaced
2:17:48–2:17:56in hands as huge as palmyra trunks, men thrilled by their battle array, chariots hung with
2:17:56–2:18:02with chiming golden bells. And cloud-like war elephants who streaming ica
2:18:02–2:18:10whips the air into a gale. Sumantra, my child, even altogether they cannot withstand him.
2:18:10–2:18:18There is no question of facing him one by one. Chandraketu, faster, sir, faster. He has
2:18:18–2:18:22begun the wholesale slaughter of my attendants.
2:18:22–2:18:28Four. His boasting's thunder, swelled by the deep roar of war drums,
2:18:28–2:18:32raises a tumult greater than herds of elephants,
2:18:32–2:18:38trumpeting in mountain caves, and the hero decks the earth with heaps of twitching,
2:18:38–2:18:43headless trunks, like morsels fallen from the dreadful mouth
2:18:43–2:18:47of death after he has eaten his fill.
2:18:47–2:18:50Aside
2:18:50–2:19:01reflecting with wonder, shame and alarm, miming the headlong speed of the chariot,
2:19:03–2:19:09as though trying to remember, how can I permit a duel between Prince Chandroketu
2:19:10–2:19:17and such a supernatural being? Yet after all, we are elders of the Exhvoko House,
2:19:17–2:19:22and in these circumstances what other cause remains.
2:19:22–2:19:29Chondroketu, oh, my army, is falling back on every side.
2:19:29–2:19:37Sumontra, my child, may you live long, the warrior is now within hearing of your call.
2:19:37–2:19:43Chondroketu, sir, what name did the messenger give?
2:19:43–2:19:52Sumontra, Lava, Chondroketu, Lava, what value can such soldiers have against one so mighty
2:19:52–2:19:54as you?
2:19:54–2:19:56I am here.
2:19:56–2:19:59Face me in single combat.
2:19:59–2:20:03Fire should be met by fire alone.
2:20:03–2:20:08Enter Lava, advancing swiftly and fearlessly.
2:20:08–2:20:17Look, Prince, look. At your challenge the Bawaria stops destroying the army. As a lion cub,
2:20:17–2:20:23hearing the thunder of a cloud, leaves off slaughtering the herd of elephants.
2:20:23–2:20:28A tremendous appror of stage.
2:20:28–2:20:33Well said, Prince, well said. You are indeed a true son of Iqshvaka. See, I have turned back to meet you.
2:20:33–2:20:40Wheeling suddenly, he rushes forward in fury.
2:21:03–2:21:07Why then destroy your own people, the touchstone of your glorious Chandraket to himself.
2:21:07–2:21:12Turning stirred an apprehensive.
2:21:12–2:21:17The tremendous uproar continues offstage,
2:21:17–2:21:21with anger and contempt.
2:21:21–2:21:25He moves towards Chandraketu.
2:21:25–2:21:29Ah, how consummately speaks. This radiant descendant of the Solar Race, heroic, gracious.
2:21:29–2:21:32And at once gentle and stern, why should I trouble with those men now?
2:21:32–2:21:36honor him. Lava, shame. How these dogs insult me. They have interrupted a conversation between
2:21:36–2:21:40warriors. Chandraketu, look, sir, look. The sight is worth seeing. Brandishing his bow with
2:21:40–2:21:43confidence and eager delight. He takes aim at me while the army behind him. Presses hard
2:21:43–2:21:48upon his heels. Like a cloud bearing the rainbow. Driven backwards by a violent wind. Simuntra,
2:21:48–2:21:52even to look upon him, well, only the noble prince is capable. Of that, we are overwhelmed
2:21:52–2:21:55with wonder. Chandraketu, worthy soldiers. You are an army beyond counting, while he
2:21:55–2:21:59stands alone. You have chariots, elephants, and horses. He is on foot. You are protected
2:21:59–2:22:03by armor. He wears an aesthetic steerskin. You are grown men while on his body. The first
2:22:03–2:22:06radiance of youth has only begun to shine. To raise weapons in such a battle would bring
2:22:06–2:22:09shame upon you and upon me.
2:22:09–2:22:19Astonished. Reflecting. He concentrates. Apprehensively.
2:22:19–2:22:24What? Has compassion melted him? There is no time to waste. I shall arrest the army
2:22:24–2:22:28with the divine dreambaka weapon. Sumatra, why has the uproar of our army suddenly
2:22:28–2:22:31ceased. Lava, at last that insolent fellow is in sight. Sumatra, my child, I believe the
2:22:31–2:22:36prince has employed. The Jumbaka weapon. Chandraketu, there can be no doubt. Like a dreadful union
2:22:36–2:22:39of darkness and lightning. First blinding, then dazzling. It strikes even eyes that remain
2:22:39–2:22:43fixed open. My soldiers stand motionless, as though painted in a picture. The invincible
2:22:43–2:22:47Jumbaka weapon has surely been used. This is a marvel, nothing less than a marvel. Black
2:22:47–2:22:49is the darkness stored in the womb of hell. Yet glowing red with a glare of heated,
2:22:49–2:22:53shining brass. The Jumbaka weapon overspreads the sky. Like peaks of the Vindyas torn
2:22:53–2:22:56up by a roaring wind. That proclaims the end of an age. Their caves taunulate
2:22:56–2:22:59from within by lightning issuing through masses of cloud.
2:22:59–2:23:04But how did he obtain the Jimbukka weapon?
2:23:04–2:23:07Presumably from the son of Prashadas.
2:23:07–2:23:15My child, weapons such as these, the Jimbukka above all, are not acquired in that way.
2:23:15–2:23:22Four, these weapons are, as it were, the offspring of Krishoshva.
2:23:22–2:23:25From him they came to Kashikha.
2:23:25–2:23:32Kashikha to dear Roma, and ever since they have remained with Roma alone. Yet others too
2:23:32–2:23:38have beheld them, men illumined, by their own purity, who became seers of the mantras by
2:23:38–2:23:41themselves.
2:23:41–2:23:51Each regarding the other. They gaze at one another with affection and love. My child, be on your
2:23:51–2:23:59God, your adversary has returned. Both princes, how gentle this young man looks! Is this a
2:23:59–2:24:06sudden meeting of minds? The influence of his countless virtues. Some old friendship,
2:24:08–2:24:13swiftly formed in a former birth. Or is he a kinsman hidden from us by fate?
2:24:14–2:24:20That at the mere sight of him my heart, is bound in single-minded enchantment.
2:24:21–2:24:25each regarding the other
2:24:25–2:24:30looking at lover, tearfully, aside
2:24:30–2:24:33aside
2:24:33–2:24:40it is the common nature of the soul that one person should feel an instinctive affection for another particular person
2:24:40–2:24:48people of the world describe it figuratively as the eyes being captivated or love at first sight
2:24:48–2:24:55The scriptures therefore declare that the thing is real, however groundless and incomprehensible it may appear.
2:24:55–2:25:00There is no remedy against affection born without a curse.
2:25:00–2:25:08There must be some subtle trade of love that binds living beings together in their deeper selves.
2:25:08–2:25:13Both princes. How can I lose an arrow at this body?
2:25:13–2:25:21I dawned with the delicate insignia of royalty, when at a very meeting my limbs tremble, with
2:25:21–2:25:24longing to embrace him.
2:25:24–2:25:31Yet what other cause is there but to take up arms, before such overwhelming power?
2:25:31–2:25:35And when he lies far beyond the reach of any weapon's strength?
2:25:35–2:25:38What use are weapons at all?
2:25:38–2:25:43But if, after drawing my sword, I shrink from battle?
2:25:43–2:25:45What will he say of me?
2:25:45–2:25:48The savor of the warrior's path is harsh.
2:25:48–2:25:51It checks the spontaneous current of affection.
2:25:51–2:25:55Sumontra, my heart.
2:25:55–2:25:58Why are you so widely agitated?
2:25:58–2:26:02Fate has taken away the only seed of my hope.
2:26:02–2:26:07Once the creeper has been cut down, how can a new shooter rise?
2:26:07–2:26:12Chandraketu, Sumontra, I wish to descend from the chariot.
2:26:12–2:26:14Sumontra, why?
2:26:14–2:26:20Chandraketu, first, it is the proper way to honor a warrior.
2:26:20–2:26:25Second, as you know, it observes the kshatriya tradition.
2:26:25–2:26:31According to the interpreters of the law, a chariote warrior must never fight a man who
2:26:31–2:26:33is on foot.
2:26:33–2:26:37Sumontra, I am caught in a terrible dilemma.
2:26:37–2:26:41How can a man like me prevent him from doing what is right?
2:26:41–2:26:45Or permitted did whose very essence is sheer recklessness.
2:26:46–2:26:54My revered father consults you on every question. Of law or statecraft, you, his father's dear friend.
2:26:54–2:26:58Why, then? This hesitation?
2:26:58–2:27:04Cementra, my child, may you live long, your judgment accords with duty.
2:27:04–2:27:08This is right conduct in battle, the eternal way of righteousness.
2:27:08–2:27:14house, and the warrior's path followed by the lines of Raghu's house.
2:27:14–2:27:19Embracing him with tears of affection.
2:27:19–2:27:21Sadly.
2:27:21–2:27:24Your words are beyond praise.
2:27:24–2:27:29History and legend, the teachings of duty, the ancestral customs of Raghu's line, all
2:27:29–2:27:33these, are known to you alone.
2:27:33–2:27:34Sumantra.
2:27:34–2:27:38Dear child, how many days can it be?
2:27:38–2:27:44your beloved father. The conqueror of Indrajit was born and here his own son already walks
2:27:44–2:27:51the warrior's path. How complete is the good fortune of Dasharata's line, Chandraketu.
2:27:51–2:27:58So long as the eldest of Raghu's house remains unfulfilled, how can our line attain fulfillment?
2:27:58–2:28:05That single thought consumes my father and my three other fathers with grief. Sumantra,
2:28:05–2:28:10Ah! Chandra Kedu's words pierce. The tender quick of my heart.
2:28:10–2:28:17Lava, to speak truly, the unfolding of feeling here is wholly confused. At moonrise the night-blooming
2:28:17–2:28:24lotus rejoices. And at the sight of him my eyes too are delighted. Yet my arm, its terrible
2:28:24–2:28:30wounds laid open. Throbbing with love for the heavy bow. And its cruel string that
2:28:30–2:28:34resounds so fiercely, longs for battle.
2:28:34–2:28:38Miming his descent from the chariot.
2:28:38–2:28:43Sir, Chandraketu of the Solar Race bows before you.
2:28:43–2:28:51May you possess a sovereignty unconquerable, pure and majestic as Kokutstas.
2:28:51–2:28:56May the eternal God, the Boar, grant you lasting welfare.
2:28:56–2:28:57And Father.
2:28:57–2:29:02May the sun, father of your race, inspire you in battle.
2:29:02–2:29:09May Metruvaruna, the preceptor of your preceptors, and your own preceptor too, be gracious to
2:29:09–2:29:11you.
2:29:11–2:29:18May you receive the strength of Indra, Vishnu, Agni, the Maruts, and Supanna.
2:29:18–2:29:26May the mighty mantra sound of the bow strings of Roma and Lakshmana bring you victory.
2:29:26–2:29:28All the prince, you look magnificent upon your chariot.
2:29:28–2:29:31There is no need for so great a display of courtesy.
2:29:31–2:29:34Then let the fortunate prince adorn a chariot as well.
2:29:34–2:29:38Sir, have the prince mount his chariot again.
2:29:38–2:29:41A little embarrassed.
2:29:41–2:29:44Smiling.
2:29:44–2:29:47Then you two must accept Prince Chandrakethu's request.
2:29:47–2:29:53Lover, who would hesitate to use an implement of his own?
2:29:53–2:29:57But we forest dwellers are not accustomed to riding in chariots.
2:29:57–2:30:04Sumontra, my child, you remember the claims of both self-respect and generosity.
2:30:04–2:30:11If Roma, king of the Ishvakos, could see this conduct of yours, his heart would overflow
2:30:11–2:30:12with affection.
2:30:12–2:30:20Lover, I understand that the royal sage himself is exceedingly generous, or so, at least,
2:30:20–2:30:22I have heard.
2:30:22–2:30:27We do not ordinarily oppose such a right, and who in the world would not honor the king's
2:30:27–2:30:29countless virtues.
2:30:29–2:30:34Yet the challenge proclaimed by the guardians of the horse, a provocation flung at every
2:30:34–2:30:37criteria, has brought about this change in me.
2:30:37–2:30:43Chandra Ketu, are you offended even by the splendor of my father's immeasurable power?
2:30:43–2:30:48Lover, whether I am or not is beside the point.
2:30:48–2:30:54I ask only this, I have heard that Rogva is a self-controlled man, it is said that neither
2:30:54–2:30:57he know his subjects are arrogant.
2:30:57–2:31:03Why then, do his people speak words fit for demons?
2:31:03–2:31:07The sages say that demonic speech is speech.
2:31:07–2:31:10Fit only for the intoxicated or the proud.
2:31:10–2:31:15It is the root of every feud, the very class of the world.
2:31:15–2:31:18So have men condemned it.
2:31:18–2:31:25of the opposite kind. They praise in these words. The wise declare that gracious speech
2:31:25–2:31:33is the wishful feeling cow itself. It yields all that one desires, drives one away. Gives
2:31:33–2:31:42birth to fame, and wipes out every evil deed. It is the very mother of supreme prosperity.
2:31:42–2:31:48How gallus is this young disciple of Valmiki. Every word he speaks is tipped in the nature
2:31:48–2:31:50of a sage.
2:31:50–2:31:53Chandraketu, regarding what you just said, are you offended?
2:31:53–2:31:55Even by the splendor of my father's power?
2:31:55–2:31:56I ask only this.
2:31:56–2:31:59Is the exercise of a kshatriya's duty subject to limitation?
2:31:59–2:32:03You do not know the lord of the Ikshvokos in the list.
2:32:03–2:32:06Please abandon this obstinacy now.
2:32:06–2:32:11By destroying the soldiers you have certainly displayed your strength.
2:32:11–2:32:17But it is unwise to vie with the conqueror of Jamadagnya.
2:32:17–2:32:21Sir, why proclaim with such fanfare that the king defeated Jammadagnia?
2:32:21–2:32:25It is an established truth that Brahmin's strength lies in speech, whereas Ekshetria's
2:32:25–2:32:26strength lies in his arm.
2:32:26–2:32:28Jammadagnia was a Brahmin who took up the sword.
2:32:28–2:32:31What glory does the king gain by defeating such a man?
2:32:31–2:32:33Somewhat agitated.
2:32:33–2:32:37Sir, enough of this dispute.
2:32:37–2:32:41This person must be some new incarnation of the primal being.
2:32:41–2:32:45If even the son of Bregu is no adversary in his eyes.
2:32:45–2:32:50And if he refuses to admit that Father Rama's righteous deeds could have secured the safety
2:32:50–2:32:53of all seven worlds.
2:32:53–2:32:54Ex-Sint All
2:32:54–2:33:03A Vidyadhar and his wife appear in a chariot moving through the sky.
2:33:03–2:33:05Reflecting
2:33:05–2:33:09He does so.
2:33:09–2:33:10Looking
2:33:10–2:33:11Ex-Sint Both
2:33:11–2:33:12Accent Booth
2:33:41–2:33:42which understands the other's intent.
2:33:42–2:33:44They tremble so violently that their crests come loose.
2:33:44–2:33:46Their eyes naturally pink as lotus petals.
2:33:46–2:33:47Of themselves turn blood red.
2:33:47–2:33:49And a sudden, frenzied dance of their arched brows.
2:33:49–2:33:51Makes each face resemble the dark mark upon the full moon.
2:33:51–2:33:53Or a black be hovering over a blossoming white lotus.
2:33:53–2:33:55Both princes, come!
2:33:55–2:33:56Let us find a place better suited to battle.
2:33:56–2:33:57End of Act 5.
2:33:57–2:33:58Interlude to Acts 6.
2:33:58–2:34:01Vidyatera, ah, behold the prowess of these two princes of the solar race.
2:34:01–2:34:03Locked in a furious struggle in a battle that began without warning, the beauty
2:34:03–2:34:05of Kshatriya power has gained a new brilliance.
2:34:05–2:34:07And gods and demons themselves are speechless with wonder.
2:34:07–2:34:08Look, my dear.
2:34:08–2:34:10They bend bows hung with shining golden bells.
2:34:10–2:34:12With a mighty twang of their heavy strings.
2:34:12–2:34:14Raise a terrifying tumult, their crests stream without pause.
2:34:14–2:34:17Arrows rain down, and the battle, mounting with dramatic violence.
2:34:17–2:34:18Strikes terror into the whole world.
2:34:18–2:34:20For the welfare of both, the drums of heaven.
2:34:20–2:34:22Resound with the deep thunder of clouds.
2:34:22–2:34:24Then let flowers fall unceasingly upon these two perfected heroes.
2:34:24–2:34:26Dense showers laden with open golden lotuses.
2:34:26–2:34:28Dripping nectar from the tender, jewel-like buds.
2:34:28–2:34:30Of the immortal trees of the gods.
2:34:30–2:34:32Vidyadari, but why has the sky suddenly turned so tony?
2:34:32–2:34:35And why has the dreadful flash of lightning began its wild dance?
2:34:35–2:34:36Interlude to Act 6.
2:34:36–2:34:37Vidyadara, what can be happening now?
2:34:37–2:34:39Has the third eye of the darkened red god open fully.
2:34:39–2:34:41Lazing like sunlight spun upon to Vastras' lake?
2:34:41–2:34:42Ah, I understand.
2:34:42–2:34:44Prince Chandraketu has released.
2:34:44–2:34:46The weapon of fire, and its flames are spreading everywhere.
2:34:46–2:34:48Now, all the other celestial chariots have fled.
2:34:48–2:34:50The yaktail banners are singed into rainbow colors.
2:34:50–2:34:52And the flames upon our own standard make it look.
2:34:52–2:34:54For a moment, as though it had been dyed saffron.
2:34:54–2:34:55A marvel!
2:34:55–2:34:57The god of fire has appeared, sparks bursting from him.
2:34:57–2:35:00Crack like thunderbolts, how terribly the flames leap and lick.
2:35:00–2:35:01The heat spreading on every side is unbearable.
2:35:01–2:35:04I had better shield my beloved with my body, and move to a safer distance.
2:35:04–2:35:07Vidyadari, ah, the touch of my husband's body has shut out the heat.
2:35:07–2:35:09and smooth as a purist pearl, so tender and complete.
2:35:09–2:35:11Then delight my eyes roll back and close.
2:35:11–2:35:13Vidyothara, why, what have I done?
2:35:13–2:35:15And yet, one need do nothing at all.
2:35:15–2:35:17The mere joy of companionship removes sorrow.
2:35:17–2:35:19What a great blessing it is to possess someone who loves you.
2:35:19–2:35:20Interlude to Axxix.
2:35:20–2:35:22Vidyothara, why has the sky suddenly darkened with clouds?
2:35:22–2:35:25Fluid billowing masses adorned with flashing lightning.
2:35:25–2:35:26Black as the throat of a peacock madden with delight?
2:35:26–2:35:29Vidyothara, it must be the effect of the Verna weapon released by Prince Lava.
2:35:29–2:35:30What is this?
2:35:30–2:35:32Thousands upon thousands of swelling clouds.
2:35:32–2:35:33Have quenched the weapon of fire.
2:35:33–2:35:35Vidyothara, ah, how delightful it is to me.
2:35:35–2:35:38But alas, every excess gives birth to danger.
2:35:38–2:35:41Now, the world is shivering with cold, enveloped in dense and terrible darkness.
2:35:41–2:35:44Thickened by clouds roaring like the wind of dissolution, as though the entire universe
2:35:44–2:35:46were struggling inside the cavernous mouth of time.
2:35:46–2:35:49Yawning horribly to swallow it in a single gulp, or as though it had entered the belly
2:35:49–2:35:51of Narayana, all the doors of his senses closed.
2:35:51–2:35:53In the yogic sleep at the end of an age.
2:35:53–2:35:55Well done, Prince Chenaketu.
2:35:55–2:35:56Well done.
2:35:56–2:35:57This is precisely the moment to release the wind weapon.
2:35:57–2:35:59And he surely has released it for.
2:35:59–2:36:00The wind has torn the swelling clouds apart.
2:36:00–2:36:02As knowledge dissolves delusion into Brahman.
2:36:02–2:36:05Vidyallari, my lord, who is this descending in terror between the two princes?
2:36:05–2:36:08In his celestial chariot, waiting the end of his robe with uplifted hand.
2:36:08–2:36:10And from far away, striding with gentle words to stop the battle?
2:36:10–2:36:11Interlude to Act 6.
2:36:11–2:36:14Vidyadhara, it is the lord of Raghu's line, returning from the slaying of Shambhuka.
2:36:14–2:36:17At the great man's words, both honor him and cease their battle.
2:36:17–2:36:19Lava falls silent, while Chandrakirti bows profoundly.
2:36:19–2:36:21May the kings meeting with his own sons bear an auspicious fruit.
2:36:21–2:36:22Come, let us go now.
2:36:22–2:36:24End of the interlude.
2:36:24–2:36:34At the opening of the Sinha Rama, Lava and Chandraketu, who is bowing before Rama.
2:36:34–2:36:43descending from the Pushpaka chariot. He raises and embraces him with tears of affection.
2:36:45–2:36:53Looking at Lava, Rama, Chandraketu, moon of the solar rays,
2:36:55–2:37:02come to me at once and embrace me tightly. Your limbs are cool as blocks of eyes,
2:37:02–2:37:09able to soothe even the burning of a heart such as mine.
2:37:09–2:37:12Are you well?
2:37:12–2:37:17And are the divine weapons dwelling within your body also well?
2:37:17–2:37:25Chandraketu, all is well because I have had the good fortune to meet Lava.
2:37:25–2:37:29This beautiful prince of marvelous deeds.
2:37:29–2:37:32I beg that father.
2:37:32–2:37:41upon this supreme and noble hero with the same affection. He bears me, or with even greater
2:37:41–2:37:52affection. Rama, how fortunate that my child has found a new friend. His nature is at once
2:37:52–2:38:02unfathomable and beneficent. It is as though the science of weapons had taken bodily form.
2:38:02–2:38:11to protect the worlds, as though Kshatriya duty had become incarnate, to guard the treasure
2:38:11–2:38:21of sacred knowledge, as though all power had come into full flower. All virtues had gathered
2:38:21–2:38:30in one place, and all the merit of the world had accumulated, to stand here visibly
2:38:30–2:38:31Revealed.
2:38:31–2:38:32Aside.
2:38:32–2:38:38Ah, what a great man, purity of radiance and body, the one mighty refuge of trust, affection
2:38:38–2:38:41and devotion, the gentleness of supreme righteousness made flesh.
2:38:41–2:38:44This is a wonder, hostility has vanished and a joyous tenderness wells up.
2:38:44–2:38:46Where has my insolence dissolved?
2:38:46–2:38:47That humility now overwhelms me?
2:38:47–2:38:50At the very sight of him I have fallen under his power, why?
2:38:50–2:38:53Yet great man, like sacred places, possess some influence of a measurable worth.
2:38:53–2:38:55Rama, how does he suddenly bring rest to my sorrow?
2:38:55–2:38:57And for what reason does affection awaken in my inmost being?
2:38:57–2:39:00to say that affection requires a cause is self contradictory. There is something with
2:39:00–2:39:04source of neutral attraction. Love does not depend on a least upon an outward cause. Why
2:39:04–2:39:08does the white lotus open at sunrise? Or the moonstone releases due at moonrise?
2:39:08–2:39:26Joyfully, gazing with humility and curiosity, embracing him affectionately, aside, allowed.
2:39:26–2:39:27Chandraketu, who is this?
2:39:27–2:39:29Chandraketu, dear friend, this is my revered father.
2:39:29–2:39:32Lava, then by right he is my father too, since you have called me.
2:39:32–2:39:33Your dear friend.
2:39:33–2:39:34But in the Ramayana you address four men.
2:39:34–2:39:35By that title.
2:39:35–2:39:37Tell me, which of them is he?
2:39:37–2:39:39Chandraketu, he is my eldest father.
2:39:39–2:39:40Lava, then this is the lord of Raghu's line.
2:39:40–2:39:43How fortunate that this day has dawned to grant me sight of him.
2:39:43–2:39:45Father Lava, the disciple of the son of Prachatas.
2:39:45–2:39:46Bows before you.
2:39:46–2:39:48Rama, my child, may you live long, come to me.
2:39:48–2:39:50Enough, enough, put aside this formality.
2:39:50–2:39:52Embrace me tightly again and again.
2:39:52–2:39:54Your touch is like the inner petal of a firm, full-grown lotus.
2:39:54–2:39:56Tender and smooth yet strong.
2:39:56–2:39:58and cool as the heartwood of sandal or a moonbeam,
2:39:58–2:40:00reviving the very breath of life.
2:40:00–2:40:02Lava, he feels such spontaneous affection for me,
2:40:02–2:40:04and in my ignorance I have committed so great an offense against him.
2:40:04–2:40:06Even raised weapons and attacked his men.
2:40:06–2:40:08May my revered father forgive Lava's childish offense today.
2:40:08–2:40:12What offense has my child committed?
2:40:12–2:40:18Chandraketu, hearing the guardians of the horse proclaim father's might.
2:40:18–2:40:22He became eager to display his own valor.
2:40:22–2:40:28valor. Rama, but that is the ornament of Akshatriya.
2:40:28–2:40:37A man of immense strength cannot endure another's display of power. It is his natural disposition,
2:40:37–2:40:47not an afficcation. If the sun, maker of day, continually scorches a sunstone with his rays,
2:40:47–2:40:54Will it not, as though insulted, spit forth fire?
2:40:54–2:40:55Looking
2:40:55–2:40:58Lava concentrates
2:40:58–2:41:01Exit
2:41:01–2:41:05His wrath too is astonishing.
2:41:05–2:41:08Father, look, my dear friend.
2:41:08–2:41:14This hero released the drumbaka weapon and held the soldiers utterly motionless.
2:41:14–2:41:18Rama, child lava, withdraw the weapon.
2:41:18–2:41:26Chandraketu. You too go and reassure the humbled, helpless soldiers. Chandraketu, as you command.
2:41:26–2:41:30Lava, the weapon has been pacified.
2:41:30–2:41:38My child, the deployment and withdrawal of these weapons, together with their secret mantras,
2:41:38–2:41:47are handed down through a lineage. Brahma and the other gods performed austerities.
2:41:47–2:41:55a thousand years and more for the welfare of the Vedic way of life. Then these weapons,
2:41:55–2:42:02which those ancient masters became worthy to behold, worthy embodied forms of their
2:42:02–2:42:11own ascetic power. Thereafter Krishashiva imparted the complete secret lore of their mantras.
2:42:11–2:42:18To Vishwamitra of Kusha's line, a disciple who had remained with him.
2:42:18–2:42:21For a thousand years and more.
2:42:21–2:42:26That holy sage bestowed them upon me.
2:42:26–2:42:29Such was the former succession.
2:42:29–2:42:33May I ask, how did that succession?
2:42:33–2:42:37Reach the noble prince.
2:42:37–2:42:40The weapons appear to their own accord before both of us.
2:42:40–2:42:43Selecting.
2:42:43–2:42:46Why should that be impossible?
2:42:46–2:42:48Through the right-ning.
2:42:48–2:42:55Of extraordinary merit from a former birth, such power may arise.
2:42:55–2:42:59But why did you use the dual number?
2:42:59–2:43:01We are two brothers, twins.
2:43:01–2:43:05Then where is the other?
2:43:05–2:43:06Bandayana.
2:43:06–2:43:07Bandayana.
2:43:07–2:43:11Dear friend, do you say that the King's soldiers
2:43:11–2:43:18made so merciless an assault upon lava may he live long, then the sun-like title of king
2:43:18–2:43:26shall set from the world, and the fire of the kshatriya weapon shall soon be extinguished.
2:43:26–2:43:30Who is this now, dark as a sapphire?
2:43:30–2:43:35Whose voice makes the hair rise upon my body?
2:43:35–2:43:39As buds burst upon the Kadamba.
2:43:39–2:43:43The moment a young black cloud begins its low thunder.
2:43:43–2:43:48It is my elder brother Kusha returning from Bharata's hermitage.
2:43:48–2:43:50Eagaly.
2:43:50–2:43:56Child, call your brother. May he live long.
2:43:56–2:43:58He goes.
2:43:58–2:44:01Enter Kusha.
2:44:01–2:44:03Certainly.
2:44:03–2:44:10with anger, curiosity, eagerness and resolution, sounding his bowstring.
2:44:12–2:44:17He advances with long strides, coming near.
2:44:19–2:44:25Since the age of Manu, son of Viva's van, these kings of the Solar Race have granted fearlessness even to Indra and have kept blazing the fierce fire of their Kshatriya power.
2:44:25–2:44:33To burn the arrogant, if today I gain the chance to fight the king of the Solar Race, how blessed my bow will be, its string consecrated in the terrible flame of my radiant divine weapons.
2:44:33–2:44:36Rama, what extraordinary manliness dwells in this kshatriya boy?
2:44:36–2:44:38His glance declares that he does not care a blade of grass.
2:44:38–2:44:40For any creature in the universe, he moves with tremendous force,
2:44:40–2:44:42as though making the earth herself bow.
2:44:42–2:44:44Young as he is, he bears within him the grave weight of a mountain.
2:44:44–2:44:47Is the heroic mood approaching in person, or pride itself embodied?
2:44:47–2:44:48Lava, victory to my elder brother.
2:44:48–2:44:50Kusha, my child, may you live long.
2:44:50–2:44:52What is this news of battle?
2:44:52–2:44:52Lava, nothing.
2:44:52–2:44:55Brother, swallow your pride before this man, and conduct yourself humbly.
2:44:55–2:44:56Kusha, why?
2:44:56–2:44:58The man standing there is the lord of Ragu himself.
2:44:58–2:45:02He bears affection for both of us, and is eager to see you before him.
2:45:02–2:45:03Thoughtfully.
2:45:28–2:45:30They both advance.
2:45:32–2:45:35Although he is a royal personage, no fault will attach to us if we bow before him.
2:45:35–2:45:39Brother, behold the great man, the majesty of all his supernatural deeds, may be read in
2:45:39–2:45:42his grave and radiant bearing.
2:45:42–2:45:51Looking, approaching, he embraces him aside.
2:45:51–2:45:54They move and sit in the proper order.
2:45:54–2:45:57Ah, his body breeds peace, and his radiance purifies.
2:45:57–2:46:01How fittingly the poet of the Ramayana transformed the goddess's speech into visible form.
2:46:01–2:46:03Father, Kusha, disciple of the son of Prechitas.
2:46:03–2:46:05Hose before you, Rama, come to me.
2:46:05–2:46:06Yes, come, may you live long.
2:46:06–2:46:10Your body is tender as a cloud filled with the water of immortality, and this man, moved
2:46:10–2:46:12by a father's love, longs to embrace you.
2:46:12–2:46:15But this child, as though the very essence of my body, liquefied by affection, had streamed
2:46:15–2:46:19from every limb, and now stood outside me, as though my consciousness, my elemental self,
2:46:19–2:46:20had taken embodied form beyond me.
2:46:20–2:46:22Why is he drenched in the current of my heart?
2:46:22–2:46:24Which trembles with this profound joy, and when I embrace his limbs, why does he
2:46:24–2:46:26in turn drench me in a true flood of nectar?
2:46:26–2:46:28Lava, father, the sun is scorching my head.
2:46:28–2:46:29My father sit for a moment.
2:46:29–2:46:30Beneath the shade of the saltry?
2:46:30–2:46:32Rama, whatever my child desires.
2:46:33–2:46:45Aside, studying them closely, reflecting, tearfully, weeping.
2:46:47–2:46:59Ah, though they are modest, their manner of walking, standing and sitting suggests that Kusha and Lava are future emperors.
2:46:59–2:47:09The royal dignity inherent in their bodies enhances the lovely beauty of every limb,
2:47:09–2:47:18as rays enhance the stainless moon or drops of nectar a fully opened lotus.
2:47:18–2:47:24I see further signs that these two are princes of Raghu's line.
2:47:24–2:47:33He's dark as the neck of a full-grown pigeon, sloping shoulders like a bull's, steady gazes
2:47:33–2:47:41like a lion at rest, and voices deep and rich as festival drums.
2:47:41–2:47:50Not only do they bear the form of my own house, every limb of both princes clearly resembles.
2:47:50–2:47:56Janaka's daughter as well, on close observation.
2:47:56–2:47:59The inference is easy.
2:47:59–2:48:04It is as though the face of my beloved has appeared again.
2:48:04–2:48:08Beautiful as the freshest lotus.
2:48:08–2:48:14The same face, lovely with the gleam of flawless white teeth.
2:48:14–2:48:17The same graceful ears.
2:48:17–2:48:25And though their eyes are red and dark, the same impress of her beautiful nature.
2:48:25–2:48:31This is the very forest where the son of Prachatas dwells.
2:48:31–2:48:36And where, I have heard, the queen was abandoned.
2:48:36–2:48:43Then there are, their appearance, age, and radiance.
2:48:43–2:48:51It also astonishes me that the Divine Weapons appeared of themselves, as the command I gave
2:48:51–2:48:54the weapons in the picture gallery.
2:48:54–2:49:03Now born fruit, for I have heard that even a great men of old could not obtain them without
2:49:03–2:49:08initiation through an unbroken succession.
2:49:08–2:49:16Then this boundless joy and sorrow rising together in my heart give conviction to my wavering
2:49:16–2:49:24soul and above all I knew that the queen carried twins in her womb.
2:49:24–2:49:33Long ago when intimacy had blossomed and my affection grew and became secure and she
2:49:33–2:49:37was more at ease with me in private.
2:49:37–2:49:45Though natural modesty still restrained her gaze, I was the first to discover, by the touch
2:49:45–2:49:51of my palm, that there were two swellings in the womb.
2:49:51–2:49:56She herself learned it only some days later.
2:49:56–2:49:58Is there some way I might ask them?
2:49:58–2:50:01Father, what has happened?
2:50:01–2:50:04This rain of tears has made your face, the source of the world's welfare, like a
2:50:04–2:50:06night load of stringed, in the dew of dawn.
2:50:06–2:50:08aside
2:50:09–2:50:11allowed
2:50:36–2:51:03with a shy smile, affection and grief.
2:51:03–2:51:08He stands as though stunned, in anguish.
2:51:08–2:51:11How terrible!
2:51:11–2:51:15Another merciless blow upon the tender quick of my heart.
2:51:15–2:51:19Queen, it was truly so.
2:51:19–2:51:25Alas for the conduct of life, discordant.
2:51:25–2:51:30Confused events ending in a fruitless, broken love.
2:51:30–2:51:37only scorched pain, where shall such happiness be found again?
2:51:37–2:51:46And that perfect trust which made it grow, that solicitude each bore for the other, that
2:51:46–2:51:57deep-flowing savor of wonder, that oneness of two hearts, in sorrow and in joy alike,
2:51:57–2:52:07this sinful breath of mine still clings and will not depart. Ah, how terrible! They have
2:52:07–2:52:16reminded me of that one uniquely painful time when countless qualities of my beloved were
2:52:16–2:52:25revealed all at once, when the girl's bud-like breasts had newly begun to swell, and in
2:52:25–2:52:33only a few days had grown a little fuller. When desire, deepened by the combined force
2:52:33–2:52:47of youth, love, and curiosity was bold within her heart, yet shy upon her body, lava, then
2:52:47–2:52:55hear this verse, spoken by the Lord of Raghu Tassita. While they rested in the Mundakini
2:52:55–2:53:02grove near Mount Chitrakoota. As though the stone seat before you have been kept for you
2:53:02–2:53:13alone, and the kisara trees around it were showering flowers. Rama, how wonderfully innocent.
2:53:13–2:53:22A child can be, especially one raised in the forest. Queen, do you remember our intimate
2:53:22–2:53:33conversation on that occasion. How terrible this is! With the minds I I see your face.
2:53:33–2:53:42Your brow bright as the moon. Your hair stirred by the gentle wind from the mandakini. Cool
2:53:42–2:53:51with beads of perspiration. Your cheeks open and lovely, without a saffron mark. And your
2:53:51–2:53:58exquisitely graceful ears. More beautiful for having no earrings.
2:53:58–2:54:08Oh Fate! Even in separation, the beloved surely gives some consolation.
2:54:08–2:54:17For through continual, profound meditation, I create her before my eyes. But when even
2:54:17–2:54:25that resource is taken away. The world becomes a desolate forest. And the heart feels as
2:54:25–2:54:34though it were slowly roasting over a smoldering fire of chaff.
2:54:34–2:54:42Vasishtha, Valmiki, Dasharata's queens, Janaka, and Orondotti, terrified by the news of the
2:54:42–2:54:50boys battle are at last approaching old age fetters their feet and the hermitage lies
2:54:50–2:55:01far away yet though weariness slows their bodies their minds run on ahead looking in anguish
2:55:01–2:55:04He rises.
2:55:04–2:55:08All move away, overcome with grief.
2:55:08–2:55:11What?
2:55:11–2:55:17Arundhati, Basishta, my mothers, and Janaka are here.
2:55:17–2:55:21The very thought of seeing them is unbearable.
2:55:21–2:55:29Alas, Father Janaka himself is coming this way, like a thunderbolt.
2:55:29–2:55:33about to fall upon my wretched head.
2:55:33–2:55:39Once at the celebration of their children's marriage, our two fathers
2:55:39–2:55:44met in the presence of Vasishtha and the others
2:55:44–2:55:49and rejoiced to see how worthy the alliance was.
2:55:49–2:55:55After all this ruin, how can I look upon such a friend of my father
2:55:55–2:55:59and not shatter into a thousand pieces.
2:55:59–2:56:04And yet, what deed is too difficult for Rama?
2:56:04–2:56:08Voice offstage, alas!
2:56:08–2:56:14The moment they beheld the Lord of Raghu, whose beauty is now preserved.
2:56:14–2:56:20Only in His radiance, His mothers, already distraught.
2:56:20–2:56:24With trying to revive the fainting Janaka,
2:56:24–2:56:39Have themselves fallen unconscious. Rama, father, mothers, do not waste compassion upon a sinner such as I, I showed none.
2:56:39–2:56:49To the woman who was the entire good fortune of Janaka and Raghu's line, I must go and bow before them.
2:56:49–2:56:54Kusha and Lava, this way, father.
2:56:54–2:56:59End of Act 6
2:56:59–2:57:01Enter Lakshman.
2:57:01–2:57:04Enter Rama.
2:57:04–2:57:08Lakshman, ah!
2:57:08–2:57:16has Valmiki, by his ascetic power, gathered together the entire living world, all mortals
2:57:16–2:57:25and immortals, gods and demons, men, women, animals, and every moving and unmoving being
2:57:25–2:57:32of the middle-air, and summoned with us all Brahmins, Kshatriyas, townspeople, and
2:57:32–2:57:42country folk? My elder brother has also commanded me, dear Lakshman, Valmiki has invited us
2:57:42–2:57:49to witness his dramatic composition performed by celestial nymphs. Go therefore to the
2:57:49–2:57:55theatre on the bank of the Ganges and see that the spectators are seated in their
2:57:55–2:58:07proper places. I have arranged suitable seats for mortals and immortals alike. And look,
2:58:07–2:58:15out of reverence for Valmiki my elder brother is coming this way. Though still a king, he
2:58:15–2:58:23has adopted the stern observance of an ascetic. Rama, dear brother Lakshman, are all who
2:58:23–2:58:28Who understand the art of drama in their places?
2:58:28–2:58:31Lakshman ade are.
2:58:31–2:58:42Rama, let these two boys, Kusha and Lava, be given seeds of honour equal to Prince Chandrakethus.
2:58:42–2:58:45They sit.
2:58:45–2:58:48Knowing my lord's affection for them, I have already done so.
2:58:48–2:58:52The royal pavilion is prepared here.
2:58:52–2:58:55Let the performance begin.
2:58:55–2:59:00The Son of Prashatars, who relates the truth exactly as it is, makes this appeal to every
2:59:00–2:59:05moving and unmoving creature assembled here, through the profound insight made possible
2:59:05–2:59:10by Asajj's vision, I have composed a brief work that is at once purifying and rich in
2:59:10–2:59:14dramatic feeling, filled with pathos and wonder.
2:59:14–2:59:21In view of the gravity of its subject, please give it your undivided attention.
2:59:21–2:59:26He means that sages behold righteousness directly.
2:59:26–2:59:32The inside of holy seers is truth-bearing, untouched by the dust of falsehood and never
2:59:32–2:59:38broken, therefore it must never be regarded with doubt.
2:59:38–2:59:45My husband. Prince Loxmono. I am alone and without protection in the forest. My labour
2:59:45–2:59:50The pains have begun, and terrible wild beasts are eager to devour me.
2:59:50–2:59:57Wretched as I am, I have no course left but to throw myself into the mandakini.
2:59:57–3:00:00Aside
3:00:00–3:00:04How dreadful this is, far worse than I had imagined.
3:00:04–3:00:05Exit
3:00:05–3:00:09Stun
3:00:09–3:00:12The daughter of all supporting earth.
3:00:12–3:00:16Queen abandoned by the King in the Great Forest.
3:00:16–3:00:21When the pains of childbirth begin, leaps into the Divine Ganges.
3:00:21–3:00:24Rama, Queen.
3:00:24–3:00:25Queen.
3:00:25–3:00:28Look, Lakshmana is here.
3:00:28–3:00:32Lakshmana, but, brother, this is only a play.
3:00:32–3:00:37Rama, Queen, my beloved companion in the Dandaka Forest.
3:00:37–3:00:41This calamity befell you because of Rama.
3:00:41–3:00:45Lakshmana, brother, keep watching the story.
3:00:45–3:00:53Enter Sita, almost unconscious, supported by earth and Ganga, each goddess carrying one
3:00:53–3:00:58of Sita's sons in her arms.
3:00:58–3:01:01I have hardened my heart.
3:01:01–3:01:02I am ready.
3:01:02–3:01:09Rama, dear brother, I am entering a realm of darkness where neither cause nor remedy
3:01:09–3:01:22can be seen. Hold me, both goddesses. Beautiful Vadahi, master yourself. By good fortune your
3:01:22–3:01:31travail has succeeded. In the river you have born two sons. Who will sustain the line of
3:01:31–3:01:43Raghu recovering herself. She feigns by good fortune I have born sons my husband
3:01:45–3:01:52falling at Rama's feet looking he fans him
3:01:54–3:01:57brother dear brother what happiness that our purpose has been fulfilled
3:01:57–3:02:01A magnificent new branch has sprung from the tree of Ragu's line.
3:02:01–3:02:06Ah, my brother is motionless, overwhelmed by a surging flood of tears.
3:02:06–3:02:11Child, recover yourself, we beg you.
3:02:11–3:02:14Regaining Consciousness
3:02:14–3:02:19Divine Lady, who are you? And who are you?
3:02:19–3:02:24Earth, this is Badjarathi, the Tutularie Goddess of your husband's house.
3:02:24–3:02:28Divine lady, I bow before you.
3:02:28–3:02:34May you enjoy complete good fortune in accordance with your fidelity as a wife.
3:02:34–3:02:37Great Grace has been shown to us.
3:02:37–3:02:41And this is your mother, the Goddess Earth.
3:02:41–3:02:45She embraces Sita and Fiends.
3:02:45–3:02:49Mother, you see me in this condition.
3:02:49–3:02:53Earth, come, child, come, my little daughter.
3:02:53–3:02:55Excitedly.
3:02:55–3:03:00Ah, both Earth and Ganga have come to aid my sister-in-law.
3:03:00–3:03:03Looking.
3:03:03–3:03:07Recovering consciousness.
3:03:07–3:03:14This is surely a cause for joy, and yet a source of profound pathos.
3:03:14–3:03:22Bhajyurthi, even all supporting Earth can tremble, so powerful is love for a child.
3:03:22–3:03:30Yet it is the same in all, the knot of attachment, the source of unrest within every conscious
3:03:30–3:03:35creature, the very thread of worldly life.
3:03:35–3:03:40Child Vadahi, Goddess Earth, please compose yourselves.
3:03:40–3:03:47Earth, Goddess, how can I compose myself when I gave birth to Sita?
3:03:47–3:03:52Her long residence among the demons was one thing.
3:03:52–3:03:58For abandonment, that terrible humiliation, was another.
3:03:58–3:04:00Bhagyarthy.
3:04:00–3:04:08When destiny is about to bear its fruit, what creature has the power to close its gate?
3:04:08–3:04:11Earth, true.
3:04:11–3:04:15But was this right for dear Rama?
3:04:15–3:04:22The hand he held in childhood, when he himself was a boy, no regard for that.
3:04:22–3:04:28None for me, none for Janaka, none for fire.
3:04:28–3:04:32None for her humility, none for his own children.
3:04:32–3:04:36Sita, my husband.
3:04:36–3:04:40All this has made me remember you again.
3:04:40–3:04:43Birth, what?
3:04:43–3:04:47You still have a husband.
3:04:47–3:04:50With tears of shame.
3:04:50–3:04:53What mother says is true.
3:04:53–3:04:58Mother Earth, I am the very man you describe.
3:04:58–3:05:03Bogyurthi, Earth, you are the body of all mortal life.
3:05:03–3:05:10How then can you be angry with your son-in-law as though you knew nothing at all?
3:05:10–3:05:14The dreadful scandal had spread far and wide.
3:05:14–3:05:21While the purifying ordeal by fire took place in Lanka, how could the people here believe
3:05:21–3:05:23in it?
3:05:23–3:05:30The hereditary wealth of the Ichabaka House is to keep the whole world content.
3:05:30–3:05:35In such a crisis, a truly terrible crisis.
3:05:35–3:05:38What could our child have done?
3:05:38–3:05:45Vajmana, the goddess's inner light shines unobstructed in all beings.
3:05:45–3:05:52Bhagyuthi, even so, I bow before you with folded hands.
3:05:52–3:05:58Rama, mother, you have also shown grace to the line of Bajratha.
3:05:58–3:06:04Earth, I have always been gracious to you all.
3:06:04–3:06:10At first there was only the unbearable pain born of love, it is not that I failed to understand
3:06:10–3:06:14dear Rama's love for Sita.
3:06:14–3:06:19With a burning heart, fate compelled him to abandon her.
3:06:19–3:06:25And today he remains alive only through some superhuman courage.
3:06:25–3:06:30And the accumulated merit of his subjects.
3:06:30–3:06:37How profound is the compassion of elders for those they regard as their children?
3:06:37–3:06:41Weeping, with folded hands.
3:06:41–3:06:46Mother, take me to yourself and absorb me into your body.
3:06:46–3:06:50What more could she ask than that?
3:06:50–3:06:51Heaven forbid!
3:06:51–3:06:56May you live a thousand years before such a dissolution occurs.
3:06:56–3:07:01Earth, child, you must care for your two little sons.
3:07:01–3:07:05I have no protector. What can I do for them?
3:07:05–3:07:10How can you speak so when in truth you are not without protection?
3:07:10–3:07:15What kind of protector does this unfortunate woman possess?
3:07:15–3:07:19O heart, you are cold steel.
3:07:19–3:07:23Though you are the source of the world's good fortune,
3:07:23–3:07:26how can you hold yourself in contempt?
3:07:26–3:07:32Through our relationship with you, our own holiness is increased.
3:07:32–3:07:34Brother, did you hear?
3:07:34–3:07:36An uproar of stage.
3:07:38–3:07:40Let the whole world hear.
3:07:41–3:07:45Another still more wondrous event is about to occur.
3:07:47–3:07:50How has the whole sky become encircled by flame?
3:07:51–3:07:53We understand.
3:07:53–3:07:56The divine weapons and the dream Bhaka weapons.
3:07:57–3:08:01Whose succession of masters was Kriyash, Kaushika and Rama.
3:08:01–3:08:04are now appearing of their own accord.
3:08:04–3:08:06Voices offstage.
3:08:06–3:08:09Queen Sita, we bow before you.
3:08:09–3:08:13As the joy of Raghus line declared in the picture gallery,
3:08:13–3:08:17our destiny from this day lies with your sons.
3:08:17–3:08:21What good fortune, the deities of the weapons.
3:08:21–3:08:25My husband, your act of grace is manifest even today.
3:08:25–3:08:28My brother told them, from this day forward,
3:08:28–3:08:33Stay Forward, These Weapons Will Unfailingly Serve Your Children.
3:08:33–3:08:36Supreme Weapons, We Bow Before You.
3:08:36–3:08:40You have shown us grace, we are blessed.
3:08:40–3:08:46Whenever these boys remember you in their hearts, please appear and serve them.
3:08:46–3:08:54Rama, a wave of compassion has risen, breaking upon a lake of wonder and joy, and has brought
3:08:54–3:08:58me to a state that cannot be described.
3:08:58–3:09:02Both Goddesses rejoice child.
3:09:02–3:09:06Your two little sons have now become the equals of dear Rama.
3:09:06–3:09:12Sita, Divine Lady, who will perform the kshatriya sacraments for them?
3:09:12–3:09:14Rama.
3:09:14–3:09:18Alas, Sita herself, the power of Raghu's line,
3:09:18–3:09:22ever guarded by Vasishtha and the family priests,
3:09:22–3:09:26can find no one to perform the sacraments of her sons.
3:09:26–3:09:31Bhagirthi, daughter, do not be anxious about that.
3:09:31–3:09:39After the two boys are weaned, we shall place them under Valmiki's protection and he will perform their Kshatriya sacraments.
3:09:39–3:09:49For the houses of Raghu and Janka alike, the son of Prachetas, is no lesser preceptor than the sages Vasishtha and Angiras.
3:09:49–3:09:54Ex-Sint Ganga, Earth and Sita.
3:09:54–3:09:57He feigns.
3:09:57–3:10:02Bhagyathi has considered every matter with the greatest care.
3:10:02–3:10:13Lakshmana, brother, I speak the truth, for many reasons I am fully convinced that those two boys are Kusha and Lava.
3:10:13–3:10:17They too command the weapons from birth.
3:10:17–3:10:24Both princes received their sacraments from the great sage, son of Prachatas.
3:10:24–3:10:28And both are twelve years old.
3:10:28–3:10:37Rama, dear brother, the mere thought throws my heart into turmoil and drives me out of my senses.
3:10:37–3:10:43Earth, child, come with me now and sanctify the netherworld.
3:10:43–3:10:50Sita, mother, take me to yourself and absorb me into your body.
3:10:50–3:10:55I can no longer endure the changes and reversals of this world.
3:10:55–3:10:59Rama, what answer will she give?
3:10:59–3:11:07Earth, child, obey my command and wait until your two sons are weaned.
3:11:07–3:11:10After that, do as you wish.
3:11:10–3:11:14Bhajyurthi, so be it.
3:11:14–3:11:18Rama, has Vada he vanished.
3:11:18–3:11:24Queen, my beloved companion in the Dandaka Forest, goddess of virtue,
3:11:24–3:11:28have you resolved to depart for the other world?
3:11:28–3:11:31Looking.
3:11:31–3:11:34Looking.
3:11:34–3:11:37Enter Arunthi and Sita.
3:11:37–3:11:40Valmiki, protect us.
3:11:40–3:11:44Is this all the conclusion your poem offers? Voice offstage, stop the orchestra.
3:11:45–3:11:51All mortals, every moving and unmoving creature. Behold the sacred marvel bestowed by Valmiki.
3:11:51–3:11:57Lakshmana. The waters of the Ganges seem to be churning. And the sky is filled with divine sages.
3:11:58–3:12:04A miracle. Sita and the goddesses, Ganga and earth, are rising from the depths.
3:12:04–3:12:07Voice offstage. World honored are in Dadi.
3:12:07–3:12:13Look graciously upon us, Ganga and earth. We entrust Sita to your protection.
3:12:13–3:12:19The ideal wife who has kept her sacred vows. Lakshmana, what happiness, what a miracle!
3:12:19–3:12:24Brother, look, look! Alas, my brother has still not regained consciousness.
3:12:24–3:12:29Arun Dadi. Child, this modest hesitation is unnecessary.
3:12:29–3:12:33Put it aside. Come quickly, and with the touch of your beloved hand.
3:12:33–3:12:37Restore my child Rama to consciousness.
3:12:37–3:12:40Touching him fearfully.
3:12:40–3:12:45Regaining consciousness joyfully.
3:12:45–3:12:49Looking with joy and wonder.
3:12:49–3:12:52Ashamed.
3:12:52–3:12:54He bows.
3:12:54–3:12:58My husband, please master yourself.
3:12:58–3:13:00Rama, ah, what is this?
3:13:00–3:13:02Queen.
3:13:02–3:13:08and Mother Orondottie, all my elders, and Rishi Shringda, and Shanta rejoicing with them.
3:13:08–3:13:14Orondottie, my child, over there is the Goddess of Bajuratha's line, the gracious Gonga.
3:13:14–3:13:21Voice offstage, Lord of the world, dear Rama, remember the request I made during the viewing of the pictures.
3:13:21–3:13:25Be gracious to your daughter-in-law Sita, as Orondottie is.
3:13:25–3:13:28Now I am discharged from that obligation.
3:13:28–3:13:31Orondottie, and there is your mother-in-law, Earth.
3:13:31–3:13:36Voice offstage, years ago, when you abandoned Sita, you made this request,
3:13:36–3:13:39may you live long, Earth, protect your honoured daughter, Jonaki.
3:13:40–3:13:44Great King, today I have fulfilled that request concerning my child.
3:13:45–3:13:46Rama, how is this possible?
3:13:47–3:13:52Though Rama is guilty of a terrible offence, both goddesses have shown him compassion.
3:13:52–3:13:55Orandotti, people of town and countryside.
3:13:56–3:13:59This woman has been entrusted to Orandotti's protection,
3:13:59–3:14:02and John of E and earth have showered praise upon her.
3:14:02–3:14:06Formerly the god of fire, Vaishvanara, testified to her virtue.
3:14:07–3:14:11Gods and Brahmins have extolled her as a woman of savour trees lineage.
3:14:11–3:14:15Except once more Queen Sita, born from the sacrificial ground.
3:14:16–3:14:18Tell me, good people, what is your judgment?
3:14:20–3:14:22How sternly Arun Dadi has rebuked the people.
3:14:23–3:14:26The whole living world bows before my sister-in-law, while the guardians of the quarters
3:14:26–3:14:30and the seven sages honor her with a shower of flowers.
3:14:30–3:14:38Lord of the world, dear Rama, in accordance with sacred law, entrust the duties of the sacrifice
3:14:38–3:14:46to your beloved partner in righteousness, the living holy original of the golden image.
3:14:46–3:14:48Aside
3:14:48–3:14:52Does my husband know how to suit Sita sorrow?
3:14:52–3:14:57as the Divine Lady commands.
3:14:57–3:14:59Our purpose is fulfilled.
3:14:59–3:15:02I have received a new life.
3:15:02–3:15:07Sister-in-law, this shameless Lakshmana prostrates himself fully before you.
3:15:07–3:15:12My child, remain as you are and live long.
3:15:12–3:15:13Exit!
3:15:13–3:15:18Valmiki, please bring forward Kusha and Lava.
3:15:18–3:15:21Rama's two sons born from Sita's womb.
3:15:21–3:15:26and Lakshmana. What happiness, everything is true.
3:15:26–3:15:34Overcome with Dears. Enter Valmiki with Kusha and Lava.
3:15:34–3:15:41Where are my two little sons? Dear children Kusha and Lava, this Lord
3:15:41–3:15:48of Raghu's line is your father. This Lakshmana is your uncle. Queen Sita
3:15:48–3:15:58is your mother and this royal sage Janaka is your maternal grandfather.
3:15:58–3:16:03Looking with joy, Denden is un-wonder.
3:16:03–3:16:05Is my father here too?
3:16:05–3:16:11Kusha and Lava, father, mother, grandfather.
3:16:11–3:16:15Embracing them joyfully.
3:16:15–3:16:23it is only through accumulated merit that I have regained you, my two children.
3:16:23–3:16:25Doing so.
3:16:25–3:16:32Come, Kusha, my child, and you too, Lava. Give your mother a long embrace, as though
3:16:32–3:16:38she had been born again. Kusha and Lava, how fortunate we are.
3:16:38–3:16:42Holy Sage, I bow before you.
3:16:42–3:16:44And a pror offstage.
3:16:44–3:16:51Child, remain as you are and live long.
3:16:51–3:16:54Rising and looking about.
3:16:54–3:17:04The Lord of Mathura, having destroyed Lovanna, is approaching.
3:17:04–3:17:08When auspicious events come, they come like a flood.
3:17:08–3:17:11Exint all.
3:17:11–3:17:17All this is truly happening to me, and yet I can scarcely believe it.
3:17:17–3:17:20But such is the nature of good fortune.
3:17:20–3:17:27Valmiki, dear Rama, can I perform any further auspicious service for you?
3:17:27–3:17:32Rama, what could be better than all this?
3:17:32–3:17:35Yet perhaps this blessing.
3:17:35–3:17:44May this story, which purifies from sin, and generously bestows every good.
3:17:44–3:17:52Be at once auspicious and delightful, like the mother of the world and the Ganges.
3:17:52–3:17:57May learn people's savor it embodied upon the stage.
3:17:57–3:18:02The literary art of an accomplished poet.
3:18:02–3:18:06Who knows the sacred mystery of speech?
3:18:06–3:18:09End of Act 7
3:18:09–3:18:14Above Buddies play Rama's last act.

Plain text

प्रोलोग अछि। अछि। अछि। अछि। अछि। अछि। अछि। अछि। अछि। अछि। अछि। अछि। अछि। अछि। अछि। अछि। अछि। अछि। अछि। अछि। अछि। अछि। अछि। around. Enter an actor. Now, without further delay, I must make an announcement before this discerning assembly gathered for the festival of Lord Kalapriya. You have surely heard of a certain Bhavabhuti, a learned Brahmin of the Kasyapa lineage who bears the title Srikantha. The Goddess of Speech obeys this Brahmin's command. As readily. As she obeys the command of Brahma. He has composed this play, Rama's Last Act, which we shall perform before you today. In obedience to the poet, I shall now assume the identity of a citizen of Ayyagaya in that age. Is anyone there? How strange. Why have the musicians fallen silent in the courtyards? At the coronation of our great and honoured King Rama, the wildfire that consumed the race of Pulasthia, joyous music continued day and night without a moment's pause. Prologue. Actor, my friend, the king has sent home the mighty allies who fought beside him in Lanka, the monkeys and the Rakshasas. The Brahmins and gods who came to honour him have also departed, sanctifying every region through which they passed. Festivities continued for so many days while these guests were entertained. And now Rama's royal mothers had gone under Vasishtha's protection, following Orandhati to their son-in-law's hermitage. For a sacred rite, tell me, I am not a native of this country, so I ask, who is this son-in-law? King Dasharata had a daughter named Shanta, whom he gave in adoption to King Lomapada. She married Risheshringa, the son of Vibandaka, and he has now begun a sacrifice that will continue for twelve years. The elders have gone to visit him in his honor, but they have left their daughter in Lord Here, though her pregnancy is already far advanced. Stage manager, no matter. Come, in keeping with our station, we must present ourselves at the palace gate. Prologue. Actor, then, my friend, you must compose a royal panagiric whose style is beyond reproach. My dear friend. Whatever the circumstances, it is my duty to perform. There is no escape from slander. A statement, or a woman, however pure, will still be faulted by the wicked. You should say, by those worse than wicked. Four people are maligning quain. Vaidehi herself. Why? Because she lived in a Rakshasa's house, and because they doubt the ordeal by fire. If this rumour reaches the king's ears, the consequences will be terrible. Duns. Listens. Accent both. Whatever happens, the sages and the gods will protect her. Is anyone there? Where is the king now? I hear people saying, Prologue, Janaka came out of deep affection to pay his respects, spent several days at the celebration and has now returned to Vidaeha. The queen is distressed by his departure. Therefore, to console her, the king has left the throne of justice and gone to his private apartments. End of the prologue. At rise, Rama is seated with Sita beside him. Enter the chamberlain. He stops, then speaks with formal concern. Rama, Queen Vaidehi, please do not grieve. It was not easy for the elders to leave us. But the unbroken burden of daily sacred rites sets limits on human freedom. For those devoted to religion, domestic life is full of obligations. Sita, I understand, my lord, I understand. And yet separation from those we love brings such sorrow. Rama, true. stages of life tear the tendrest fibers of the heart and awaken in a sensitive person such detachment that he longs to renounce every pleasure and seek peace in the forest. Chamberlain, Dear Rama, Your Majesty, Rama, Good Sir, Not So, From one who served in my My father's household, dear Rama, is entirely proper. Speak to me as you did before. Chamberlain, Ashtavakra has arrived from Rishishringas Hermitage. Sita, then widely, good sir. Exit Chamberlain. Ashta Vakra. Sitting. Bring him in at once. Ashta Vakra, blessings upon you both. Rama, my reverence, holy sir. Please be seated. Sita, my reverence. Are my elders and my sister-in-law Shanta. Well. Rama, are my soma drinking brother-in-law Rishya Sringa and my sister Shanta both well. Sita, did they remember us? Ashna Vakra, certainly. Your Majesty, Vasishtha sends you this message. Virtuous earth, who bears all things. Herself gave you birth. King Janaka, the equal of the Creator, is your Father, and, my daughter, you are the daughter in law of a royal house that has two spiritual guides, ourselves, and the Son God Himself. What more can we wish for you than the birth of a heroic son? Rama, I am deeply honored. In ordinary life, a good man's words conform to fact. But in the case of a primeval seer, fact itself conforms to his word. Orendotti, the Queen Mother's, and Shanta have issued this emphatic command. Whatever seated desires during her pregnancy must be granted without delay. Whatever she asks, I shall fulfill. Rishishringa, the Queen's brother-in-law. Said this, my daughter, because your pregnancy is so advanced. You have not been summoned here. Dear Rama, has been charged only with keeping you happy. I hope soon to see you safe and well. With your son in your arms. Smiling with joy and modest embarrassment. So be it. Did Vasishtha send no message for me? Listen. We are detained. At your brother-in-law's sacrifice. You are still young, and your reign has only just begun. devote yourself to the happiness of your people. For a stainless reputation is a treasure, more precious than life. The son of Maitra and Varna shall be obeyed. Affection, compassion, happiness, not only these, even Janaki herself. I would surrender without a moment's hesitation for the happiness of my people. That is why my lord is the mainstay of the house of Ragu. Is anyone there? See that Ashdavakra is given a place to rest. Rises and turns. Exit. Enter Lakshman. Ah, Prince Lakshmana has arrived. Lakshmana, victory to my brother. The painter has completed the story of your life in the picture gallery exactly as we described it. My sister-in-law is invited to see it. Dear brother, you have a gift for finding ways to lift the queen's sorrow. How far does the story go? As far as my sister-in-law's purification by fire. They rise and move forward. Looking. Silence. She who was perfectly pure from birth. What need had she of purification? Pure water and fire cannot themselves be purified. By any other means. Dear Queen, born from the sacrificial ground, forgive me. I shall remain humbled before you all my life. Those for whom family honor is true wealth. satisfy even their critics. The unrighteous demand I made under pressure of public opinion was one I never wished to make of you. Everyone knows that a rare and fragrant flower belongs as the crowning ornament upon the head, not crushed beneath the feet. See the, let it be, my lord, let it be. Come, let us see the story of your life. Lakshmana, the mural is this way. Sita, who are those beings gathered above in this scene? They seem to be singing my lord's praises. Lakshmana, they are the divine weapons called Trimbaka, together with their secret spells. Krishashiva gave them to Kaushika Vishwamitra, friend of the world, and, after my brother slew to Taka, Vishwamitra bestowed them upon him. Rama, my queen, bow to the divine weapons. For the welfare of the Vedic faith, Brahma, and the other gods practiced austerities for more than a thousand years. These weapons are the embodied power of that penance, which the ancient masters were able to behold. I bow to them. Rama, they will surely serve your children one day. Sita, I am blessed. This is the episode in Medi-la. Sita, ah, there is my lord. He has broken Shiva's vow with effortless ease, while my father gazes upon his gentle radiance, almost speechless with wonder at the beauty of his form, dark as a blue lotus in full bloom, soft and smooth, yet firm and strong, his head adorned only by the simple grace of a single top knot. Lakshmana, look here. Your father bows to his new kinsmen. Vasishtha and the others. And Shatna and Agadama, the family priest. all the kings of Janaka's line, Bose as well. This scene is truly worth seeing. Who would not welcome the union of the houses of Raghu and Janaka, in which the son of Kushtika was both the giver and the receiver? Sita, here are all four brothers after giving the customary gift of cattle. you have undertaken the marriage vows. I feel as though I were there again, as though that very moment were present now. Rama. My beloved, I too feel that the moment is here again. When Godama, delighted, placed in my hand, your hand, shining with its wedding bracelet, as though it were the sacred rite of marriage, itself embodied. Lakshmana, this is you, this other lady is my sister-in-law Mandavi, and this is my wife Shukriti. Sita, and, dear boy, who is the other young woman? Everything awkwardly, aside. Allowed. Ah, she must be asking about Urmila. Very well, I shall draw her attention elsewhere. Ah, look at this, this is well worth seeing. It is Bhargava. Sita, the very sight of him frightens me. A little annoyed. Looking at him with affection and admiration. His eyes fill with tears. Without answering, he moves on. Laughing aside. My reverence, holy sage. Lakshmana, look, brother, here you are now. Rama, come, there is much else worth seeing. Show me another scene. Sita, my lord, how becoming that noble modesty is in you. Lakshmana, this is the return to Ayodhya. Rama, I remember, ah, I remember it all so clearly. Those days when father was alive, when our married life was new, and our mothers watched over me, Those days are gone forever. And here is Jonikie as she was then. A little girl whose face shone with innocence. Her few new teeth like tiny flowers. New shoots appearing in front. After her milk teeth had fallen. Her delicate little limbs so lovely. like pure moonlight, as though nature herself had taught her the art of enchantment. That awaken such wonder in every part of me. Lakshmana, this is Manthara. Rama, Queen Vadehi. This is the Ingoody Tree at Sringavarapura, where, Long ago, we met our dear friend, the Nishada king. Lakshmana, ah, my brother wants to pass over the episode of our middle mother. Sita, this is the occasion when you had to bind your hair in a hermit's matted locks. Lakshmana, the vow that the ancient Ikshvaku kings assumed. handing the kingdom to their sons. My brother assumed that vow while still young. The Sacred Vow of Forest Exile. Sita, this is the Bhagyartha, with her clear and holy waters. Rama, Goddess, Guardian Deity of Raghu's house, I bow to you. While searching for the horse of Sagra's sacrifice, my ancestors dug into the earth with single-minded purpose, until the wrathful and mighty Kapila reduced them to ashes. Those forefathers of Badjaratha were finally redeemed by Badjaratha's fierce austerities. of his own body. And, holy river, by the touch of your waters they were set free. Mother, I pray you, love your daughter-in-law Sita as Arundhati loves her. This is Shema, the dark banyan, on the bank of the colony, along the road to Chitrakootah, where Bharadvaja directed us. Sita, does my lord remember this place? Rama, how could I forget. The hardship of the journey had left your delicate limbs weary and sore. Then, limp as a crushed lotus. You laid them in my lap. I massage them with firm hands. Until you fell into a deep sleep. Lakshmana, this is Virata, barring our way at the entrance to the Vindhya forest. Sita, no, no more of that. Here I see us entering the southern forest, as though it were happening before my eyes, my lord holding a parasol of palm leaves above my head. Rama. These are the groves beside the mountain streams, where ascetics practiced penance beneath the trees, and householders seeking peace built their homes. Generous to guests though they lived on a single handful of grain each day. This is Mount Prasaravana in the heart of Janasthana. Its caves, embraced by dense forest on every side, echoed with the sound of the Godavari. The green-black woodland, thick with trees and undergrowth, was so deep that the mountain's natural darkness darkness was made darker still by clouds forever gathering above it. Rama. My beloved, do you remember the days we spent on that mountain? When Lakshmana supplied our every need. And the place felt like home? Do you remember the clear flowing Godavari nearby? And all our wanderings along its banks? And this too? Lying cheek against cheek in the depth of love. Murmuring whatever came to mind in voices scarcely heard. Holding each other in a close embrace. powers passed without our knowing. When dawn came, it seemed that only the night had ended. Lakshmana, this is Sherpanaka at Panchavadi. Sita, my lord, this is the last time I saw you. Her eyes fill, aside. Watching Rama with concern. Come, why be so afraid of separation? It is only a picture. Sita, a picture, yes, but wicked people can still bring calamity. Rama, ah, it feels as though the events at Janasthana were truly happening again. Lakshmana, hear those evil rauchises, through the deception of the golden deer. Committed a crime that still wounds the heart today. Even though vengeance was complete, my brother's half-mad conduct when Janasthana lay empty could still make stone weep and split a heart of iron. Sita, ah, my lord, joy of Raghu's house, how much you suffered because of me. Lakshmana, brother, what is this now? A flood of tears is rising. The drops that fall to the ground scatter like a fine string of pearls torn apart. You try to master your grief, yet your trembling lips and nostrils and your chest heaving beneath its weight. Make your anguish plain to all. looking at the picture, aloud. Dear brother, then the fire of grief kindled by separation from my beloved was fierce indeed, but the thirst for vengeance made it bearable. Now, after smoldering within me without cease, it has become the pain of a wound driven into the heart's most tender core. Sita, my lord, in boundless terror I see myself alone, without you. Lakshmana, I must turn their thoughts elsewhere. This depicts the age-old vulture king, father Jatayu, and his valor. Sita, ah, father, you fulfill the father's duty of love toward his daughter. Rama, ah, father, king of birds, son of Kishapa. Where shall we ever find another benefactor so great? This part of the Danica Forest west of Janasthana is called Chitrakoondjavat. Here lived the headless demon Kabanda. This is the hermitage of the great sage Mithingan on Mount Rishiyamukha. And here is the wondrous Shabara ascetic, the holy woman Sharmani. Over there is the lotus lake called Pampa. I have heard that it was here my lord could no longer contain his grief and lament it aloud. My queen, it was a lake of extraordinary beauty. There were masses of white lotuses, their thick stem swayed. As the wings of joyfully calling swan stirred them. But between one falling tear and the next one rising, They all appeared to me as blue lotuses. This is the noble Hanuman. Yes. This is the great son of the Wind God, whose incomparable service delivered a world that had suffered so long. All glory to the mighty son of Anjana, whose power secured the welfare of us all and of the entire world. Dear boy, what is the name of this mountain, where peacocks on blossoming Kadamba trees were roused to a wild dance? Here my lord is shown beneath a tree, you hold him as tears stream from his eyes. He is on the verge of fainting, his natural radiance dimmed, only a remnant of his former enchanting splendor left. This is Mount Malayavan, filled with the fragrance of Kakuba blossoms. Its summit forever dark and wet beneath newly gathered clouds. Rama. Dear brother, stop, please stop. I can bear no more. It is as though separation from Jonaki were coming upon me once again. Lakshmana, beyond this, brother, are painted the countless marvelous feats of the monkeys and rauchasis, each more astonishing than the last. But my sister-in-law must be tired, she should rest now. Sita, my lord, while looking at these pictures a pregnancy longing has arisen in me. I wish to ask one favor of you. Rama, you need only command me. I wish to go into a pure, deep forest and bathe in the holy, quiet, cooling waters of the Bajarathi. Rama, dear Lakshmana. Lakshmana, command me. Rama, the elders have just ordered that every desire of hers be fulfilled at once. Bring a comfortable chariot with the gentlest motion. My lord, will you not come with me too? Exit. She does so. In rapture. Cruel-hearted woman, did that even need to be asked? Sita, I am very happy to hear it. Lakshmana, as my brother commands. Rama, come, let us sit for a moment in this corner by the window. Sita, yes. You're walking so much, I truly am tired. Rama, then come, put your whole weight upon me, I shall carry you. Place your arm around my neck, it gives me new life. Your arm, beaded with perspiration from effort and unease, is like a necklace of moon stones dripping water at the touch of moonbeams. it, what is this? Every touch of yours produces a transformation that cannot be called pleasure or pain, fainting or sleep, intoxication or poison spreading through every limb. It bewilders my senses awakening and numbing consciousness at once. Laughing. She looks for somewhere to lie down. Pretending to fall asleep. She falls asleep. He gazes at her tenderly. Enter a doorkeeper. Your love for me has always been unwavering. What else could it be? Rama. It makes the withered flower of my life. Bloom again. Renews my strength. And entrances every sense. These sweet words of my lotus-eyed wife. Nectar to the ear, the elixir of life to the heart. Sita, sweet-tongued lord, come, let us rest. Rama, there is no need to look. the moment of our marriage, whether at home or in the forest, in childhood or in youth. This has been your one place of rest. Where no other woman has ever laid her head. This arm of Rama shall be your pillow. Sita, it is true, my lord, true. Rama, what is this? Has my sweet speaking beloved fallen into a deep sleep upon my breast? She is laxmi herself dwelling in my house. An ambrosial balm for my eyes. The touch of a rich sander would paste upon my body. Her arm about my neck. Is a cool, smooth necklace of pearls. What is not dear to me in her? Except the agony of separation. Doorkeeper, my lord, he is here. Here. Who is here? Majesty's personal attendant, Dermaka. Aside Allowed Exit Doorkeeper Enter Durmukha Aside Dermaka, an attendant of the Inner Palace. I appointed him to learn what the people of the city and countryside are saying. Admit him. Dermaca, how can I tell the king this unspeakable rumor about Queen Sita? Yet this burden has fallen upon unfortunate me. Crying out in her sleep. Tenderhearted Lord, where are you? He gently caresses her. The dreadful fear of separation awakened by the pictures is troubling the queen's dreams. Constancy in joy and sorrow. Harmony in every circumstance. A place where the heart can rest. A sweetness that even old age cannot destroy. When time strips away every covering. And pure love ripens, what alone remains. This incomparable blessing comes only to the good. And even then, only through fortune. Approaching! Victory to the king! Tell me what you have learned. The people of the city and countryside praise your majesty, saying, Lord Rama has made us forget even King Doshrata. That is mere flattery. If you have learned of any fault, tell me, so that it may be corrected. His eyes fill with tears. He whispers everything in Ramasya. Listen, my lord. He feigns. Above your words have become a thunderbolt and pierced me to the heart My lord take hold of yourself Recovering consciousness He thinks then speaks in anguish He whispers the command No, ah no The stain of having lived in another man's house. Vada he had erased by a miraculous means. But through a crooked turn of fate it has appeared again. Spreading far and wide like the poison of a rabid dog. What can wretched Rama do? What else can I do? The vow of a righteous king is to keep his people content by every means. My father upheld that vow at the cost of me. And in the end, of his own life. And thus Ishta has only now given me the same command. Then, if the stainless honor of this house, Brightened by the conduct of the mighty ancient kings of the solar line, is sullied by reproach arising for my marriage, then I am surely ruined and condemned. O Queen, born from the sacrificial ground, by your birth you honored and sanctified earth herself. You brought joy to Janaka and the line of Nimi. Vaisishta and Arundhati have praised your character. Rama is your whole life, in the deep forest. You were my beloved companion, gentle and measured in speech. The darling of my father. How can such calamity fall upon such a woman? Through you every creature in the world is blessed. Yet this accursed rumor has fallen upon you. In you the people found a true protector. Yet you yourself stand unprotected before destruction. Durmukha, tell Lakshmana that the inexperienced King Rama has an order for him. The Queen, purified before the fire and made holi astill by carrying the continuance of Ragu's line in her womb, how could your majesty reach such a decision merely on hearing a wicked rumour about her. Silence. How dare you call the people of the city and countryside wicked. The Ikshvaku house has earned the people's trust. This seed of slander is the fruit of fate. And the miraculous event at the time of her purification He took place in a distant land, who here will believe it. Go! Exit! Aw, my queen! He carefully lifts Sita's head and withdraws his arm. Rising! He lays his head at Sita's feet. He weeps. Ah, what a loathsome deed I am about to commit! How cruel I have become! From childhood my tender beloved was nourished on the finest food. And in the depth of our love was never separated from me. Today, by deceit, I am delivering her into the hands of death. a man who cuts the throat of a little bird he has raised and cherished. How, then, can I, an outcast, untouchable, dare pollute the queen with my touch? Sinless woman, release me. I am a chandala capable of anything. You thought you rested upon a sandalwood tree. Not that you had lain upon a poisonous one. God above. The world has overturned. There is no longer any purpose in Rama's living. Suddenly the earth is an empty and desolate forest, life is lifeless, the body mere inert matter. There is no refuge, what shall I do, where shall I go? It seems Rama was given consciousness only so that he might feel pain. Life itself is tearing through my heart as though my body had been fastened with iron spikes. Mother Arundhati, Lord Vasishta and Vishwamitra, Lord Fire, Goddess Earth who bears all living beings. Janaka, my mother's, dear friend King Sugriva, Gentle Hanuman, Vibhishana Lord of Lanka, greatest of benefactors, dear friend Trajata, this vile Rama has deceived and dishonored you all. But who am I now to take your names upon my lips? For an ungrateful wretch like me even to speak their names, would be to stain those great souls with my sin. I. I remove from my breast the jewel of my house, my beloved wife. Who sleeps there unsuspecting, heavy with pregnancy, how anxiously the child moved, and cast her mercilessly before dogs like an offering of flesh. My queen, my queen, this is the The last time Rama will lay his head upon your lotus feet. Voice offstage, disaster. A terrible disaster. Rama, someone find out what has happened. A community of great ascetic sages who live along the Yamunna have come to seek your protection, terrified by Lavana. He takes a few steps, then turns back. Exit Rama. In her dream, she wakes suddenly, looks around, Enter Durmukha. What? Is Arakshasa still causing havoc? Shatradna must be sent to destroy Kamanasi's sun-root and branch. Ah, my queen, what will become of you in this terrible crisis? Holy Earth, protect your helpless daughter, Jonaki. The entire good fortune of the houses of Raghu and Janaka. The sacred child you brought forth during the Gods holy sacrifice. Deedah, beloved husband. My God! I had a dreadful dream. I was separated from my Lord, calling for Him and weeping. But where has He gone, leaving me asleep and alone? When I see Him, I shall show a little anger, if I can command my heart once He stands before me. Is anyone there? Damuka, your majesty, Prince Lachmana submits that the chariot is fully prepared and awaits you. She rises. Accent bought. I am ready. The child in my womb keeps moving. I must walk slowly. Damuka, this way, your majesty. Sita, I bow to the gods of Raghu's house. End of act one. Enter an ascetic woman dressed as a traveller. Enter the forest goddess presenting the offering. They sit. Welcome to the holy lady, ascetic, ah! The forest goddess herself has come to attend me, bearing an offering of fruit, flowers, and leaves. Godess. Take your full enjoyment of this forest. Today is an auspicious day for me. Meeting a good person is rare, and comes only as the fruit of merit. The shade of trees, water, and food suited to an ascetic. Fruit, roots, and all else are at your service. Like, what can I say? Affectionate conduct, restrained speech, made sweet by courtesy, a heart naturally disposed to goodwill, and service without hesitation, whether offered first or last, its flavour never spoils. All glory to this secret of the Virtuous. Free from deceit and stain. Forest Goddess, may I know who my honoured guest is? to act too. Asetic, I am Atreë. Forest Goddess, Atreë, where have you come from, and for what purpose are you wandering through the Dandaka Forest? Atreë. Many masters of the essence of the Vedas, Agastya and others, live in this region. I have travelled far from Valmiki, to learn the knowledge of Vedanta from them. Forest goddess, but other sages worship that ancient teacher, the son of Prashtas, in order to attain spiritual perfection. Why, then, does the noble lady remain away from him? A trey, a very great obstacle has recently arisen in studying near him, and for that reason I have accepted this long separation. Forest Goddess. What sort of obstacle? A god, what a marvelous event it was, once brought two twin boys, newly weaned to Lord Valmiki. Naturally, the children won his heart, not his alone, but the hearts of every living and unmoving thing. Forest Goddess is anything known of their names. Atre'i, it is said that the god himself revealed their names, Kusha and Lava, and their powers. Interlude to Act 2. Forest Goddess, What Powers? Atre'i, it is said that from the moment of birth the divine weapons, together with their secret spells, were under their command. Forest Goddess, Truly Astonishing. Atre'i, Valmiki undertook the work of a nurse and reared and cared for both boys. After their first tauncher, he formally instructed them in the three branches of learning apart from the three Vedas, finally, in their eleventh year. He performed their initiation according to the Kshatriya Rite and taught them the three sacred sciences. It is hardly fitting for ordinary students like us to study, beside boys of such brilliant intelligence and insight. 4. A teacher gives the same knowledge to the dull and the keen, but cannot create or destroy their capacity to receive it. Therefore the results differ greatly. A polished jewel holds a reflection. A lump of clay does not. Forest goddess, is that the obstacle to your studies? A tray, there is another as well. Interlude to act two. Forest goddess, what is it? Once the brahmarshi went to the river Tamesa for his midday bath. There he saw a hunter kill one bird of a pair of crownches while they were mating. Finally the goddess of speech appeared to his mind's eye. Every sound was clear, measured in a meter of eight syllables. She found voice in this form. Hunter, through endless time, you shall win no honor. Because you killed one bird. Of this crownchappere joined in love. Forest goddess, how wondrous, a new incarnation of meter, independent of the Vedas. Her eyes filled with tears. Alarmed, aside. Allowed. She whispers in Vasanteesya. She feints. At that moment, when the light of speech's sacred mystery appeared within the sage, the lotus-born god, the giver of life to every creature, came to him and said, you have attained knowledge of the mystery called speech. Now tell the story of Rama. You shall receive the eye of inspiration, a seer's vision whose light never grows dim. You are the first poet. Having said this, he vanished. Then the son of Prachatas composed the Ramayana, the first revelation in human society of the mystery of speech in the form of history. Interlude to Act 2 Forest Goddess, all life itself has been enriched. Atre'i, that is why I spoke of a great impediment to study. Forest Goddess, naturally. Atre'i, good lady, I have rested. Now tell me the road to Agustya's Hermitage. Forest Goddess, enter Panchavadi from here and continue along the bank of the Godavari. Atre'i, is this the celebrated sacred grove of Panchavati? Is this river the Godavari, that mountain Prasarvanna? And are you Vassanti, goddess of Janasthana? Vassanti, every word you say is true. Atre'i, daughter Janaki. All these things were dear to you. The subject of countless conversations from moment to moment. And today, as I look upon them, it is as though I see you in person. Though now nothing remains but your name. Vasanti, nothing remains but her name, what does that mean? Noble lady, has some calamity befallen Queen Sita. Atreyi, not calamity alone, disgrace as well. Interlude to act too. Vasanti, ah. What a cruel blow of fate. Atre'i, dear lady, take hold of yourself. Vasanti, ah, my beloved friend, most honored of women, is this what life has brought you. Dear Rama, dear Rama, know enough of your name. Atre'i, is there any news of what happened to Sita, after Lakshmana left her in the forest and returned? Atre'i, alas, none at all. How terrible! With Ragu's house under the protection of Orondottie and Vesyshther, and the aged Queen Mother is still alive, how could this happen? A tray! At that time the elders were at Rishishringer's Hermitage. The twelve-year sacrifice has now ended. Rishishringer was preparing to send them away with due honour when Orondottie said, I will not return to Ironhire without my daughter-in-law. Rammer's mothers agreed. In accordance with Orondottie's wish, Vesyshther too to wisely advise that they should all go and live in Valmiki's sacred grove. Vasanti, what is the king doing? A tray. The king has begun a horse sacrifice. Vasanti, God above, has he then taken another wife? Harise Phil, with affection and wonder. They turn and exit together. May the Lord never do such a thing, never. to act too. Vasanti, then who is his consecrated wife at the sacrifice? Atrei, a golden image of Sita. Vasanti, ah. Who can understand the heart of such an extraordinary man? At once harder than steel. And far softer than a flower. Atrei, after Vamadeva's formal blessing, The sacrificial horse was released and its guardians appointed according to scripture. Chandraketu, Lakshmana's son, who has inherited the lineage of divine weapons, commands them. He has been sent ahead with the fourfold army. Vasanti, Prince Lakshmana has a son too. Mother that news gives me strength. Atreey, amid all these events, a Brahmin laid his dead son at the palace gate, beat his breast and cried disaster. Dear Rama, compassion embodied, reflected that no untimely death could occur among his subjects unless there were some fault in the king. Then a voice from the sky declared, Somewhere on earth a lowborn man named Shambukha is practicing hysterities. Rama, cut off his head. Only by killing him will the Brahmin sun live again. Interlude to act too. On hearing this, the lord of the world took sword in hand, mounted the Pushpaka aerial chariot, and set out to search in every direction for the Shudra ascetic. Vasanti, here in Janasthana itself, a Shudra named Shambukha, is performing penance by inhaling smoke. If only dear Rama might adorn this forest once again. Atreey, dear lady, I must leave now. Vassanti, very well, a tree, though the day has become unbearably hot. The trees dwelling on the riverbank worship the Godavari with offerings of flowers. When elephants come to rub their itching cheeks against them, masses of blossoms fall from stems softened by the heat. In the shade, birds tear at the bark and pick insects out with their beaks. While doves and jungle fell grown in the oppressive heat. At rise, Rama is aboard the Pushpaka aerial chariot, filled with compassion, his sword raised. With great effort, he strikes. Enter a celestial man. By right hand, strike this Shudra ascetic with the sword and restore the Brahmin's dead son to life. You are a limb of that same Rama who dared banish his own weary Sita, heavy with pregnancy. Why does compassion awaken in you now? There, you have done a deed worthy of Rama. Let the Brahmin son live. Celestial man, victory to the king. By imposing just punishment, you grant safety even from Yama himself. Because of you the child has returned to life, and I too have attained a higher state. I, Shambhuka, bow my head at your feet. Whatever comes through contact with the good, even death, brings liberation. Looks around. Both results please me. Now enjoy the fruit of your severe austerities. May the vast, radiant world of heaven, filled with joy and happiness accumulated through merit, be yours forever. Shambhuka, I obtained this exalted state by bowing at your feet, austerity had no part in it. Yet perhaps my penance did me one great service. Lord of all creatures and my refuge, I should have had to search the whole earth for you. But you yourself crossed hundreds upon hundreds of leagues. seek out a low-born man like me. Surely this was the boom granted by my penance. Otherwise why would you leave Ayodhya and return to Dandaka? Rama, what, is this the Dandaka forest? Yes. Here are soft, deep green pastures, their harsh and terrifying ground. On every side, to the horizon, the roar of swift rivers echoes. Between them lie forts, hermitages, mountains, streams, caves, and woods. Yes, I know this land, the Dandika region of the Vinnyas. This is certainly the Dandika Forest. They say that when your majesty lived here, you slough 14,000 fearsome roxas as in battle, and 3 more Ptidashana, Akara, and Trishiras. Thus Janastana became holy ground, where even timid people like me could move in What, not only Dandika, but Janastana too? Yes, certainly. The vast forest stretching south from Janastana, with its lots of mountain caves full of parks of savage wild dogs, makes anyone's hair stand on end. In some places the land is silent as death. Elsewhere wild beasts howl. The heaths of Enomas, the dreadful snakes lying quietly asleep seems to kindle fire. Water is scarce, afound only in deep fishes. Thirsty lizards drink the sweat from sapons' backs. Looks around. His eyes fill with tears. As I gaze upon Janis Thana, the dwelling place of Korra. event seemed to unfold again before my eyes. How deep that he's love for Rama was. God above, this very forest, what could be more terrifying. Yet she said, I will live with you in the honey-scented forest. And she was truly happy here. So profound was her Love. A person need do nothing. The joy of mere companionship erases suffering. To have someone who loves you, what a great blessing. Leave memories that bring only pain. Let your majesty look toward the forest in the middle distance, quiet and grave, enclosed by mountains the color of the soft necks of peacocks in rut, adorned with clusters of trees casting dense and deep shade where every kind of animal rests without fear. Here mountain streams run with clear to cooling water. Filled with the fragrance of flowering vines and reeds shaken by excited buds. The fierce current plunges roaring through groves of German trees. with ripe fruit. And father, there are caves in the mountains where bear-cubs live. Their gulls are multiplied many times by echoes. They cool to sharp as stringent scent of juicy sholaki leaves, broken from their stems and scattered by elephants. Also tickles within the caves. His voice breaking with psalms. Good sir, may your journey be blessed. Travel by the celestial path and attain the worlds of the virtuous. Exit Shambhuka. After going to the ancient Brahma-Shiyagastya, I shall enter the eternal abode. He looks. In anguish. Re-enter Shambhuga. Today I see again the same forest. Where many years ago, I lived for so long, both as an ascetic firm in his duty and as a householder, and where I also tasted the sweetness of worldly happiness. The same mountains were peacocks called. The same forest tracks were deer roamed in rut. The same river banks, filled with lovely reeds, vines. And rushes growing in dense blue-black clusters. That mass rising in the distance like a bank of clouds. Is Mount Pasaravana, where the Godavari flows? On that mountain's high summit the king of birds once lived. And below, on the Godavari's bank, we lived happily in a leaf-thatch hut. A forest alive with calling birds and adorned with dark trees. Here is Panchavadi, whose many places witness the countless intimate conversations of our long residence. lives Vasanti, my beloved friend. But what is happening to Rama? Now, like poison that spreads slowly and suddenly reveals its violent power, or the point of an arrow lodged within and jarred by an outward blow, or an old wound in the heart's tender core that splits open after seeming healed. So my ancient grief has suddenly awakened and begun to tear me apart again. Yet I wish to see those regions that were once my friends. Ah, how greatly the face of the land has changed. Where a stream once flowed, there is now a dry riverbed. Where the trees were dense, they have thinned. And where they were sparse, they have grown thick. Seen after so many years, the forest seems entirely changed. Only the position of the mountains assures me that this is the same place. Ah, despite my reluctance, affection for Panchavadi is drawing me toward it by force. all those days with her were spent. And after we returned home this place remained the subject of constant memory and endless conversation. Now sinful Rama, having killed the one dearest to him and left himself alone. How can he look upon Panchavadi, or pass it without bowing? Shambhuka, victory to the king. Agastya, having learned from me of your arrival, sends this message, Lopamudra has made every preparation for your welcome and waits affectionately with the great sages. Please come and honor us with your presence. Afterwards, you may return swiftly to your own country in the Pushpaka and prepare for the horse sacrifice. I obey the holy sages command. Then let your majesty turn the Pushkaka this way. Panchavadi, forgive the momentary neglect Rama must show you in order to obey his elders command. Accent both. Enter to river goddesses. of my Lord Belook. That is Mount Crunch of Water, where the harsh roar of wind through the bamboo forest, doubled by the cries of owls in lift-ost groves, silences flocks of crows, sapons hurning from branches of ancient sandalwood trees, riding fear at the cause of peacocks strutting proudly below. And father, there are the mountains of the south, in their caves the waters of the Godovery gurgle, and their summits are dark beneath clouds sacking the peaks. And there are the sacred places at the river confluences, where deep water was under the irregular blows of waves, from currents colliding head on. End of Act 2 Interlude to Act 3 First River friend Morala, do you seem troubled? Morala Tutamasa, Lopamudra, wife of Agastya, has sent me with this message for our noble River Godavari. You know well that from the moment he abandoned his daughter in law, Rama has been filled with a tragic mood. His grave bearing conceals it, while acute pain smolders within him, like an earthen vessel baking among embers. The current of grief born from the calamity that befell his beloved wife, growing ever stronger without cease, has now utterly broken the aroma. The strings of my heart snap when I see him. Today he is returning to Panchivati to look for the last time upon the places that witnessed the intimate moments of his forest life with his wife. He is self-controlled by nature, yet I fear that in such a place unbearable blows of grief will assail him at every step. God-over-it take heed of this. Send toward the aroma, with utmost gentleness. Abrace cool by droplets from your waves, and carrying the fragrance of lotus pollen. And when he is about to faint, he sooth his life-breath. to act three. Tomasa, such foresight is entirely worthy of Lopomudra's affection. Yet a more fundamental means of reviving diorama is available even now. How? Listen. It is said that many years ago, immediately after Lokshmona abandoned her, and returned from Valmiki's sacred grove, Queen Cita's labor pains began. The agony was so intense that she threw herself into the Ganges. There she gave birth to twin sons. Earth and Gonga came to her aid and took her down to the Netherworld. When the boys were weaned, Goddess Gonga herself entrusted them to the care of the great sage descended from Prashthaters. Inna Stonishment Even the calamities of such a woman become occasions for pure wonder. wonder. For divine powers such as these come to her aid. They turn and exit together. Now Bagarata learned from Sarayu that Dear Rama might have come to Janasthana because of the affair of Shambhuka. She too was seized by the same tender concern as Lopamudra. So, on the pretext of performing a right to ward off evil, she came with Sita to visit the godavari. Interlude to Act 3. Murala, Gonga's foresight was wise. As long as King Rama remained in the capital, occupied with the many urgent affairs of his subjects, his attention was necessarily divided. But now, with no diversion and no companion but grief, returning to Panchavati is dangerous. Can Queen Sita somehow console dear Rama? For Marse, Goddess Bagarate has already considered this. She said to Sita, daughter Sita, born from the sacrificial ground, today the tally of the birth years of Kusha and Lava, may they live forever, has reached twelve. Therefore, gather flowers with your own hands and worship the stainless sun, first ancestor of humankind, founder of your son's royal line, and your primordial father-in-law. By my power, not merely human beings, but even gods upon earth will be unable to perceive your presence. Then she commanded me, Tamasa, daughter Jonaki, my daughter-in-law, holds you in special affection, therefore you must attend her. I am now carrying out that command. Murala, I shall tell Lopamudra of this plan. It seems Deerama himself has arrived. Tommasa, and there, emerging from a pool of the Godavari. Interlude to Act 3. Her face veiled by dishevelled hair. Made lovelier by pale and hollow cheeks. The image of compassion, the embodied pain of separation from love. Jonaki is entering the forest. Murala, yes, it must be she. Like a tender shoot cut from its stem. The heat of long, harsh grief has dried the flower of her heart. As autumn heat dries the leaf of a ketoki bud. Her pale, wasted body has withered. End of the interlude. Entercita, absorbed in gathering flowers. During the cry, she is gradually filled with compassion and anxiety. Danger! Danger! Is that the voice of my dear friend Vasanti? Long ago Queen Sita reared him from infancy, feeding him with her own hand the tender tips of shalaki leaves she had gathered, the little elephant who would stand impatiently before her. What has happened to him? He was playing in the river with his mate, when a wild elephant in rut shamelessly attacked him. Distraught, moving forward a few steps. She acts as though memory returns, disolate. She feints, Enter Tamasa. My lord, save my little son, save him. Above the sight of Panchavati has brought those long familiar words back to my unfortunate lips. Ah my lord, to Mara daughter, please take hold of yourself. Noble chariot, hold here. Recovering consciousness suddenly agitated. Smiling and weeping at once. Why does this human voice, deep and sweet, as the low rumble of a rain-filled cloud, flood my ears and suddenly throw unfortunate me into such turmoil? Tamasa, daughter. Like a peahen hearing distant thunder. How can a woman such as you become so agitated and eager? Over a sound so indistinct and uncertain. Sita, holy lady, why call it indistinct? It can only be the voice of my lord. I know his voice. Tomasa. I have heard that the king of the Ichwaku line has come to Janasthana to punish a Shudra who is practicing austerities. Sita. It is fortunate that the king has not abandoned the duties of kingship. Voice offstage. Wear trees and animals too where our kin. Where I lived so long with my beloved. These are the mountain slopes of the Godavari. filled with caves and cleft by rushing streams. Looking, she feigns into Thamasas' arms, supporting her. Aside, recovering, she falls at Thamasas' feet. God above, what is this, a body pale, wasted, and weak like the disk of the moon at dawn, Yet only his distinctive gentle and grave-bearing allows me to recognize him. Yes, it must be my lord. Hold me. Tamasa, daughter, please take hold of yourself. Voice offstage, the sight of Panchavati. Rekindles the fire of grief that has slept so long within my heart. But first unconsciousness closes around me like a shroud of dense smoke. Ah, beloved Jonaki. Tamasa, this is exactly what my teacher feared. Sita, how can this be possible? Voice offstage, ah my queen, my beloved companion in the Dandaka forest. Ah, princess of Videha. Sita, God above, as he takes my unfortunate name upon his lips, his blue lotus eyes roll back. He has fainted and fallen to the ground. How can I leave him stretched out on the lonely earth, friendless and helpless? Tamesa, save him, save him, give my lord his life back. Lovely daughter, only you have the power to restore the Lord of the world to life. The touch of your hand is dear to him. The entire burden rests upon that alone. She exits in agitation. The scene opens to reveal Rama lying unconscious on the ground. Sita, weeping, carresses him. He begins to recover with an expression of supreme bliss. Let whatever must happen, happen. I obey the holy lady's command. With suppressed joy. It is as though the life of the whole world has returned. With fear and compassion, withdrawing her hand. Sitting Up. But what is happening? Is this the essence pressed from heavenly sandal leaves? Or a drop fallen from a moonbeam stop crushed in a press? Has someone poured upon my heart the juice? Of the divine life restoring herb and cool the life already burned? This touch is familiar from long ago. It restores consciousness and also brings deep intoxication. The instant it removes a faint born of pain, it produces the stillness of perfect bliss. Sita, this much is enough for now. Rama, is it possible that the Queen has come out of affection to help me? Sita, ah, why does my Lord speak of me now? Rama, let me look around. Sita, tamasa, come. The King will be angry if he sees me here without permission. Tamasa, but daughter, through Bhagyathi's grace you are invisible even to the gods. Sita, ah, yes. You speak the truth. Her voice breaking with anger. Her eyes fill. Beloved Janaki. Surely it was Beloved Janaki. Sita, my Lord, after all that has happened, such an address is deeply improper. And yet, when he speaks to unfortunate me with affection, and when I had not imagined even for a moment, that I would see him again even in another birth, why should I be so hard and merciless toward him? I know his heart, just as he knows mine. around, dis-elite. No. There is no one here. Tamesa, he abandoned me without cause, yet seeing him in this condition makes my heart experience feelings, I cannot myself understand. I understand, daughter, I understand. Chilled by despair. Bitter from his cruelty. Almost numb from meeting him after long separation. Forgiving through your own goodness. Filled with profound sympathy for every misery of your husband. Melted by love. Your heart is all these things in a single instant. My Queen. Your touch is forgiveness itself. Cool and moist with love. Present, despite everything, to give me joy. But Queen of my heart, where are you? With rising compassion and anxiety. My Lord's sorrowful words about Sita are filled with deep affection and overflowing with the bliss of love. When I believe them, it seems my birth has been fulfilled, though the arrow of unjust abandonment remains terribly sharp. Rama, but what would beloved Jonaki be doing here? This is only Rama's pure delusion, the fruit of wishful imagining strengthened by long habit. Voice Offstage, Danger Danger Long ago Queen Sita reared him from infancy, feeding him with her own hand the tender tips of shalaki leaves she had gathered, the little elephant, who would stand impatiently before her. Rama, what has happened to him? Voice Offstage, again. He was playing in the river with his mate. a wild elephant in rut shamelessly attacked him. Cita, who will protect him now? He rises. Enter Vasanthi in alarm. Where is the villain who dared attack my beloved's little son and his mate? Vasanthi, is this King Ragan and Dana? Ah, this is my dear friend Vasanti. Victory to the king. Looking. Why, this is Vasanti, the queen's dear friend. Quickly, my lord, quickly. From here, go beyond Jatayu peak and descend toward the Godavari by Seetra's Ford, there you will see the queen's little son. Ah, father Jatayu. Without you Janasthana is empty. Ah, these reminders tear open the tender core of the heart. This way, my lord, this way. Holy lady, truly even the forest divinities cannot see me. Dear daughter, Mendekeen's power is far greater than that of all other divinities. Do not be anxious. They all move. Then we shall follow behind them. Holy Godavari, I bow to you. Looking! Rejoice, my lord! The Queen's little son has defeated the Wild Elephant and stands victorious beside his mate. Rammer, victory to him. May he live long. Cedar, our how large he has grown. Rammer, my Queen, how fortunate you are. Beloved wife, the son of yours, who once tore the larvae leaf from behind your ear, with the tips of new-sprouting teeth, smooth as lotus petals, has today defeated an elephant in rut. Clearly the good fortune of his childhood still attends him. Cedar may he live long, and from this day never be separated from his tender-hearted mate. Rammer, look, friend for Santi, look, the boy has nearly learned the art of honoring his beloved. While chewing a mouthful of lotus dork uprooted in play, he pours ease to spray into her mouth with his water-beaded trunk. Water fragrant with a newly fallen lotus. But he has not yet learned, when they rest, to show proper care. By shading her with a straight-stemmed lotus leaf. Tamesa, seeing him so grown makes me think of Kusha and Lava. After all this time, what must they look like? They are just like this. How unfortunate I am, to have been torn so cruelly not only from my husband, but from my sons as well. So it was written by fate. What is the use of bearing sons if my lord can never kiss their faces, faces like two fresh lotuses, bright with a few tender white teeth, just emerging, innocent childhood laughter, lisping speech, and hair gathered in top knots? May the gods be gracious. Tamesa, the mere memory of my sons fills my breasts with milk, and with their father before me, for a moment I feel as though I have returned to the world of the living. What can one say? A child is the furthest limit of love and the root of the deepest bond between parents. Because a child is the shared object of both spouse's love. It is a knot of joy that binds their hearts together. My Lord, look there as well. That same peacock sits like a joiled crown on the high branch of a cadamber tree, calling to his mate. Having just completed his incomparable festive tandaver dance, he has spread the soft feathers of his tail. Harise Phil, in wonder. It is the same one. Dear son, may every blessing be yours. Yes, so be it. I remember you with a father's affection. My simple-hearted wife made you dance as though you were her child. Clapping her hands and rolling her eyes to make you turn in circles. Her pupils revolved like wheels. And in the skillful quiver of her brows appeared every movement of the Tandava. Ah, even animals recognized those they knew long ago. This cadamba tree, now in bloom, was planted from seed by my beloved queen. Looking, her eyes fill. How keen my lord's memory is. And surely the peacock remembers her. So he regards the tree as his own brother. Let your majesty sit here for a moment. This is the stone seat in the banana grove. Where you and your beloved wife used to rest. Cedar fed the foreens so much grass, that they would not let her leave. He said saleswear and weeps. I cannot bear to look at this. Friend Vasanti, what are you doing to my lord, and to me, by showing all this? Above, here is my lord, the same husband, the same forest of Puntavati, the same friend Visanti, the same woodland along the Godavari that witnessed our countless intimate moments, the same trees, birds, and animals that were like our children. All are before my eyes, yet for unfortunate me they have ceased to exist. How completely my world has overturned! Friend Cedar, do you not see Rama's condition? When his body was fresh as a blue lotus petal. He was a festival for the eyes. Even after one had gazed to the heart's content, he seemed new every moment. Now nearly senseless, at once pale and dark. So weakened by grief that he is difficult to recognize. He still gives joy to the eyes. I see, friend. I see. Daughter, continue to gaze upon your beloved for a long time. She continues to gaze. My Lord, who would believe that He could live without me and I without Him? Between falling tears, let me look at my beloved Lord a little longer. Seeing Him is like receiving a new birth. Weeping with affection, she embraces Sita. A swelling flood of tears born of joy and sorrow is released from your eyes, widened with longing. Your bright, sweet, innocent gaze, flowing with love, Bades the lord of your heart like a stream of milk. Sitting, her eyes fill, Pretending not to hear, Aside, Allowed, He begins to weep. Let the trees offer a welcome of honey-dripping flowers and fruit. Let the forest wind carry the full fragrance of newly opened lotuses and let the birds begin a sweet unbroken song a full voice For King Rama himself has returned to visit this forest Rama come friend for Santi shall we sit here? For Santi your Majesty. I hope Prince Lakshmana is well Rama May Thelae used to give water seed and grass with her lotus hands to these trees birds and deer Seeing them again, I am transformed as though my heart were melting and ready to burst into a flood. For Santi, but your Majesty, I asked where the Prince Lakshmana is well. Ramar, R, a your Majesty, eh, how cold the address. She asks only after Sermitri's welfare, yet her voice is choked with sobs. She must know what happened to Cetir. Yes, the Prince is well. She faints. Our, my lord, why did you become so cruel in the end? Cedar, friend for Santi, how can you speak to him like that? My lord deserves compassion from everyone, most of all from my dear friend. For Santi, you are my life, my second heart. Moonlight to my eyes, nectar to my limbs. With countless hunted words like these. You enchanted that innocent girl. But enough. What is the use of saying more? To Marcer, naturally, she is struck speechless, even driven nearly mad. Rammer, friend, please take hold of yourself. Recovering. But why did your Majesty perform that unspeakable deed? Cedar, stop. Friend Vasanti, stop. Rammer, because of the people's reproach. Vasanti, what cause the reproach? Rammer, only the people know. It is far too late for reproach now. Vasanti, cruel man. They say you value reputation. But what greater infamy could there be than this? Do you understand what became of that doe-eyed woman in the forest? Tell me, my lord. Friend Vasanti, you are cruel and pitiless. You are feeding the fire of a man already burning in flames. To Marca, it is love and grief speaking. Rama, friend, what can be imagined in such a case? Her eyes, heavy with weariness from the child moving in her womb. Must have rolled like the eyes of a frightened yelling deer. Her body, tender as a lotus petal, or a mass of moonbeams. Must have been torn apart by wild beasts. My lord, I am alive, here, alive. Rama, ah, beloved Johnaki, where are you? Sita, God above, my lord too is calling out with all his voice. Daughter, this is beneficial. A grief-stricken person must try to let grief flow outward. Four. When flood water presses against a dam, it is resisted by releasing the water. And Weeping helps a heart oppressed by sorrow. Become able to endure. Especially for Deerama, whose world has now become dreadful in so many ways. He must protect the whole earth according to rule with the sharpest intelligence. While grief for his beloved dries his soul like a flower beneath summer heat. The fault of abandonment is his own, so lament brings no peace. Yet life stubbornly remains. Therefore weeping is surely a blessing. Rama, how terrible! In extreme agony the heart breaks, yet does not split. The ruined body reels, yet does not lose consciousness. The inner fire burns the limbs, yet does not reduce them to ash. Fate strikes the vital core, yet does not end life. Yes. That is the truth. Rama, people of the city and countryside. You would not allow the queen to remain in my house. Therefore I left her in the lonely forest, valuing her no more than a blade of grass, and without grieving. But these long familiar sights are utterly destroying me. So forgive this helpless weeping that continues even now. Tamasa, how deep is the roar of his ocean of grief? Vasanti, my lord, hold fast to courage before what has passed. Friend, what do you mean by courage? It is the twelfth year of this empty world without the queen. A world in which even her name has nearly vanished. And still Rama lives. Sita, my Lord's words are torturing me. Tamasa, yes, daughter. These are the words of your beloved, now tender with love, now harsh with grief. A stream of honey mixed with poison dripping into your ears. A side. A loud. Vasanti, have I not endured at last? The burning goat of sorrow in my heart. Piercing the vital core like the point of a heated arrow lodged unseen within. Or like a poisonous sting. Sita, I am so unfortunate that even now I continue to cause my Lord pain. Rama, though my heart had broken and grown numb, today, seeing the things dear and familiar to her, I was stunned again. Every remedy attempted with enormous effort. To restrain compassion awakened to a furious force failed within. The unspeakable transformation of consciousness burst outward in full flood. floodwater breaking a sand bank and flowing without restraint. Sita, the blow of my lord's cruel, ceaselessly surging grief seems to have swept away the grief in my own heart, but left it beating wildly beyond control. Thus auntie, his condition is dreadful. I must try to distract him. Major Majesty now like to see the old familiar regions of Janasthana. They rise and move. In anguish. He feints. She feints. Sita rushes forward and touches his heart and head. He closes his eyes in delight. Yes, very well. Sita, what my friend thinks will entertain him will only inflame his grief. Vasanti, my lord, my lord. In this bower of vines you stood looking down the road toward home. She was delayed, enchanted by the swans on the Godavari. When she returned and saw you angry, she grew anxious and bowed with innocent folded hands like an unopened lotus. Sita, Basanti, you are very cruel, by making my unfortunate memory return again and again, you drive the knife still deeper into the tender core of my Lord's heart. Rama, heart hearted Jonaki, you appear everywhere, yet show me no mercy. My Queen, my heart is splitting. The bonds of my body are coming loose. The world is empty, and within I burn without cease. My soul, submerged in darkness, is drowning helplessly. Unconsciousness closes around me. What shall wretched Rama do? Sita, God above, my Lord has fainted again. Vasanti, my Lord, please regain consciousness. Sita, my Lord, you are the source of well-being for the whole mortal world, yet for you, afflicted by unceasing self-destructive calamity, The blessing of birth has been reversed, all because of unfortunate me. Ah, I am destroyed. Tamasa, daughter, regain consciousness. The touch of your hand alone will restore dear Rama to life. Vasanti, ah, he is still unconscious. Sita, dear friend, where are you? Consol the Lord of your life. Vasanti, what good fortune, dear Rama has regained consciousness. Rama, a touch, as though rubbing nearly ambrosia-alloyment, over every limb of my body, within and without, has suddenly restored me to life and spread through me in new and blissful faintness. Friend Vasanti, how fortunate you are. Relishing the touch. He takes her hand. Sita quickly frees her hand and steps back. How so? Rammer, friend, it means Jonagy has returned. What else could it mean? Vasanti, but my lord, dear Rammer, where is she? Rammer, look, she is here before me. Vasanti, why do you burn me with this cruel and meaningless ravings, cutting again into the vital core already scorched by grief for my dear friend? Cedar, I must withdraw, yet my lord's touch, so soft and cool with long, true affection, So soothing to long and cruel pain Seems to have farcened my hand there. It is at once damp with sweat, Weary, agitated, trembling, and helpless. Rammer, friend, why call it a raving? The hand I held at our wedding, wearing its bracelet. Long familiar, mind to touch whenever I wished, Cool as nectar. Cedar, my lord, this is that very hand. Now I understand. Rama, this very hand, her hand, soft as a larvaly stem, so beautiful that every other hand is measured against it. Cedar, God above, in the joy of my Lord's touch I have made a terrible mistake. Rama, friend Vasanti, my sense is a numb with joy and my mind so shaken that I cannot trust myself. Please touch her yourself and see. Vasanti, our, this is complete madness." looking at her dendily. Aside God above, what a mistake. I was so stunned that I suddenly released that pedal soft hand. My own hand trembled and sweated like hers. Sita, God above, I still have no control over myself. At once restless, numb, and confused, the pain is unbearable. TAMASA At your beloved's touch, poor child, sweat and goose flesh cover your limbs. You tremble like the trunk of a cadamba tree swaying in the wind. Wet with new rain and suddenly breaking into buds. Sita, ah, I am ashamed before Tamasa of this unruly body. She must be thinking, after such abandonment, such infatuation still. Looking around. What? Nowhere. Merciless Vadahi, have pity. Sita, surely I am merciless, to remain alive while seeing you in this condition. Rama, my queen, where are you? Do not leave me like this. Sita, ah, my lord, are you not saying the reverse of the truth? My lord, by your extraordinary strength, please put an end to this complete delusion. How could my dear friend be here? Rammer, clearly be she is not. Otherwise why would Vasanti herself not see her? Yes, it must be a dream. But no, I was not asleep. Where is sleep for Rama now? Surely that holy mental illusion, repeatedly produced by imagination, has closed around me again. Seetir, no! Crew me, I have confused my lord. Vasanti, my lord, look! The black-eyed chariot of the son of Pulashtir, destroyed by Jataryu. Before it, new-like beasts with monkey faces, now only skeletons. From here the enemy cut off Jataryu's wings with his sword, and rose into the sky with radiant cedar, like a cloud encircled by lightning. Intero My lord, father has been killed, and I am being carried away. Save me. springing up. Villain, thief of both father and Sita at once, where are you fleeing? My lord, you were the fire of annihilation to the Rakshasa race. Could any object of your wrath still remain alive? Ah, for a moment I went completely mad. Ah, but my calamity today is altogether different. Then a remedy was available. Heroic battle constantly diverted the mind and filled the world with wonder. I knew separation from my wife would end with the enemy's death. But how bitter it is to endure endless separation in silence. Endless. Ah, I am truly destroyed. destroyed. Ah, where friendship with the monkey king is useless, and the strength of the monkey's fame, where Jambavins wisdom shows no path, nor the wisdom of the wind god Sun, where even Nala, son of Vishvakarma, can build no bridge. Beloved, where are you? Beyond even the reach of saumetries' arrows. Sita, how dear the first separation seems now. Started, distraught, clinging to thamasa. Friend Vasanti, the sight of Rama now brings his friends only sorrow. How long shall I make you weep? Give me leave to depart. Sita, Tamasa, my lord is going. Tamasa, daughter, take hold of yourself. Whatever happens, we must now go to Bhagyarthi to perform the rites for the birth anniversary of Kusha and Lava. May they live forever. Sita, holy lady, please let me look upon Him one last moment, Him whom I shall never see again. Rama, to assist at the horse sacrifice, I now have another consecrated wife. Trembling. Breathing in relief. Embracing her with affection, smiles and tears. her head in embarrassment aside. My Lord Who. Rama, a golden image of Sita. Sita, my Lord, yes, now you are truly my husband. At last you have drawn from me the sharp point of the arrow of shame caused by abandonment. Rama, at least there, eyes forever drowned in tears find a little rest. Sita, blessed is the woman whom my Lord honours so greatly for His consolation, for that reason she is a source of hope to the world. Tamasa, daughter, you are praising yourself. Sita, the holy lady is teasing me. Vasanti, what caused you such great anguish has become grace toward us all. If you must go, go according to your duty. Sita, Vasanti has become my sworn enemy. Tamasa, daughter, come. Let us go. Desolate. Yes, I must go. To Marse, but how can you go when? However hard you try, your eyes, widened with longing. Remain fixed upon your beloved, and cannot be turned away. She fiends. I bow to my lord's lotus feet. Surely it is the fruit of incomparable merit that I saw him today. daughter, please take hold of yourself. Recovering How long is the full moon visible amid black clouds? How intricate this story is. The dominant emotion is one, sorrow. But as circumstances change, it assumes many forms. As water becomes whirlpool, bubble, or wave. Though in the end all are one thing, water alone. Rise, respectively, to Sita and Rama. Excent all, enter to young ascetics. Noble chariot, come here at once. Tamasa and Vasanti, may earth, the divine river, and the other goddesses like us. May the teacher who first employed poetic meter. May the sage Vasishta and his companion Arundhati. May all of them bless you and grant you lasting good fortune. End of Act 3. Interlude to Act 4. First ascetic, Sadataki, how beautiful Valmiki's hermitage looks, with all its decorations and the crowds of arriving guests. Look! A hermitage deer is drinking its fill of the cream left from sweet, warm milk rice. Prepared for his mate, who has just given birth. The smell of greens cooking with jujube fruit spreads through the air. With the faintest fragrance of rice and clarified butter. laughing. A heartfelt welcome to the guests, especially these old people, whose arrival gives us a holiday from our studies. First ascetic, so ditaki, your reverence for the elderly is entirely unprecedented. Bandayana, what is the name of the guest walking at the head of that company of old women? No more joking. You surely know that this is Vasishta, who has come from Rishesh Ringer's hermitage protecting King Dashrath's wives with Orundati leading them. Why ask such a foolish question? to act for. So the Turkey, what Vasishta? Bandayana, yes, of course. So the Turkey, I was certain he was a tiger or a wolf. What do you mean? So the Turkey, from the moment he arrived our poor little calf has been terrified. Bandayana, when a land guest arrives, a householder following the Vedic rule offers a welcome gift of meat by slaughtering a yearling calf, the bull, or a goat. According to the authors of the Dhamma Sutras that is righteousness. So the Taki, you have caught yourself in a contradiction. Bandayana, how? They turn. Accent both. When the venerable Vasishta arrived, a yearling calf was slaughtered. But when the royal sage Janaka came later today, Vamiki offered him only milk and curds, and the heifer was spared. Bandayana, the sage's rule applies to those who have not renounced meat. Janaka has given it up. So the Taki, why? Bandayana, the moment he heard of the reversal of Queen Sita's fortune, he became an ascetic. For several years he has been practicing austerities in the sacred grove of Shandradvipa. Interlude to act four. So the Taki, then why has he come here? Bandayana, to see his lifelong friend, the son of Prachettas. So the Taki, has he met his relatives? Bandayana, Vasishta has just sent Arun Dati to Queen Kosalia, so that she may meet the king of Videha. So the Taki, since the old people have gathered together, let us gather with our classmates and enjoy a holiday of games. Bandayana, there is the ancient royal sage, our teacher Jannaka. After bowing to the son of Prachetas and to Vasishta, he is seated beneath a tree outside the hermitage. In his heart grief, Vasita burns without cease, like fire eating an old tree from within. End of the interlude. Enter Arundhati, Kausalya and the Chamberlain. The wrong committed against my daughter, a vast and dreadful wrong, broke me and pierced my heart, and kindled a torrent of rage that, though old, remains forever new, cutting the vital core like the edge of a saw and never ceasing. How terrible! This wretched body, stripped by old age and unimaginable grief of every support, drained of substance and vitality by many austerities, month-long fasts, and mortification still refuses to prepare for death. It is unbelievable! Yet the sages say, those who take their own lives go to worlds of darkness where no sun shines. Even after so many years, the blows of my acute grief, openly manifested and filled with unceasing thought, are still fresh and do not diminish. Mother! Cita, born from the sacrificial altar, is this what life brought you? Such a reversal that one feels shame even to weep to the heart's content. Ah, daughter! I remember your childhood face. and crying for no reason. Two or three milk teeth shining like jasmine buds. Your first word stumbling and indistinct. Earth, you truly are hard as stone. She whose greatness should have been acknowledged by you yourself. And likewise by fire, the sages, the sister's wife, Gonga. Even by the sun god, teacher of Raghu's line, she whom you yourself gave birth to, a speech gives birth to true knowledge. Cruel earth, How could you endure the killing of your only daughter? Voice offstage, this way, holy lady, and your majesty. Janaka, ah, Grishtin is showing Orundotti the way. Whom did he call your majesty? Ah, can this be my dear friend, the lawful wife of King Dasharata, Causalia? Who would believe it? She who in Dasharata's palace was like royal fortune. Why sage like? She was royal fortune herself. been utterly transformed by the force of fate. A rare creature made of pure grief. Ah, what a reversal! Here is another terrible reversal in my own condition. Those who once were for me, a festival embodied, are now unbearable even to behold. As those You sult were being scattered upon a wound. But I am telling you that your family preceptor commanded you to go in person to meet the King of Videha. And for that very reason I was sent to you. Why this paralyzing hesitation at every step? Your Majesty, compose yourself and obey Vasishtha's command, that is all I beg. The mere thought of meeting the King of Medi-La on such an occasion makes all my sorrow surge up again at once. The strings of my heart are breaking. I cannot hold it steady. Indeed. A current of sorrow born from separation from dear kin may already flow with violent force, but the mere sight of a beloved friend makes it unbearable as though multiplied into a thousand streams. How can I face the royal sage after what happened to my beloved daughter-in-law? This is your honored relative, the mainstay of Jannaka's line, to whom the sage Yajnavalkya once imparted the whole knowledge of Brahman. Kassalia, there stands the royal sage, the joy of the great king's heart, the father of my beloved daughter-in-law. God above everything returns to me, when we celebrated that great wedding festival, and today, Lord, everything is ended. Anaka. Arundhati Surya Dvaja, King of Videha, bows to you. She through whom alone her husband, though himself an inexhaustible Treasury of Holiness, regards himself as pure. And who among all the teachers of old, is the Supreme Teacher? I bow to that holy lady, who is like the dawn, before whom the entire world, bows its head to the ground, and who promotes the welfare of the whole universe. Arindati, may your supreme radiance remain fierce, and may the God who burns beyond all dust purify you. Janaka, Krishnan is the mother of the protector of the people well? Asaid, Allowed, Sine. She faints and falls. This is mockery of us, merciless and sharp mockery. Royal Sage, the Queen is already plunged in profound sorrow because she has so long been unable to see dear Rama's moon-like face. Please do not increase her suffering with your anger. A terrible calamity befell Rama too. He was told that a malicious scandal was spreading among the citizens and because people of little understanding did not believe in the purification of the Ordeal by fire. He was forced to take the harshest measure Janka Gods above who is this fire that bears boast of purifying my daughter? Rama has already insulted us enough. How can anyone dare insult us further by saying such a thing? Arunthati it is entirely true Before my child, the word fire is merely a meaningless string of sounds. It is enough that she is Sita. My child, whether you were my daughter or my pupil, matters not at all. Your supreme purity itself awakens such affection in my heart. Whether one is a girl or a woman is irrelevant. You have won the praise of the whole world. It is worthy qualities in a good person that deserve honour. Not sex or age. Kausalya, ah, my wound is splitting open again. God above, what has happened now? Royal Sage, what else could happen? That King, that happiness, that pride in her children. Those days gone by. The instant she saw you, her friend, all memory surged up again. You can see how deeply this terrible event has shaken her. Even an aged mother's heart can be as tender as a flower. He sprinkles water from his water pot over her. Recovering. How base I have become. After seeing her again after so long, I could not even cast a loving glance upon my dear friend's beloved wife. Honoured kinsman, dear friend, my heart. My joy embodied the whole essence of life. My body's life breath and whatever was dearer still. What was the illustrious King Dasharat and not to me? Ah, is this truly causalia? If husband and wife ever quarreled in private, she would leave him and bring her complaint only to me, and whether she should remain angry or forgive him. The decision rested with me, but enough of such memories. They attacked my heart and burn it. Orendotti, ah, sigh suppressed within for so long have hardened his heart. Janaka, ah, my dear friend's wife. Chamberlain. At first fate was like a favorable friend. Following each of her wishes, Then came its sudden and merciless transformation, leaving her only anguish of heart. Causéia, Johnachy, my daughter, where are you? How clearly I remember that innocent lotus face adorned only by the radiance of marriage, with its pure smile in bloom. Child, brighten my lap again with those limbs lovelier than the first moonlight. The king always used to say, she is certainly the daughter-in-law of the Lord of Raghu's line, but my kinship with Janaka makes her my own youngest daughter. What your majesty says is exactly how it was. Though the king had five children, the enemy of Subahu was dearest of all. And though he had four daughters-in-law, Sita was no less a daughter than Shanta. Janka, ah, my dear friend King Dasarath. That is why in every way you were my equal. How can I forget you? They say the father of a bride must honour the bridegroom's family. But in my case it was exactly the reverse. You were always the one who pleased me. Fate took from me both a man such as you and the foundation of our kinship. Shame upon me. I must be a sinner. To remain alive in this dreadful, hell-like world. Kosalia, Janki, my child, what shall I do? My unfortunate life seems permanently fastened by some unbreakable mortar. It will not leave this wretched body. Arunthati, compose yourself. You are a king's daughter. For now, do your best to restrain your psalms. And one thing more, do you not remember what your family preceptor said at Rishishanga's hermitage? He declared firmly that what happened was unavoidable, but that in the end all would be well. When all our dreams have been shattered, how can that be possible? A commotion offstage. All listen. Do you then believe he spoke falsely? You are a princess and the mother of Maitikshatriyas. Do not think otherwise it had to happen. Never doubt the words of Brahmins, who have directly perceived the light. Aspicious Lakshmi dwells in their speech. No word of theirs is false. Today is a holiday from study. The noise must be children at play. Looking! How easy it is to find happiness in childhood. Ah, who is that among them, whose exquisitely lovely, soft, and delicate limbs, adorned with the beauty of dear Rama, soothe even the pain in my eyes? Aside with tears of joy. This must be the fruit of that secret know of that nectar, which Bhagirthi revealed. I only do not know which of the two he is Kusha or Lava. May they both live forever. A dark radiance like the petal of a blue lotus. A head adorned with lovely locks. Beauty ornamented by virtue, as though. His very presence ennobles the whole company of boys. He looks like Ragoon and Dana. As though my dear child had become a boy again. Who is he, the mere sight of whom? Is Ambrosial Barn to my eyes? Chamberlain, I think the boy is a clatriar student of sacred learning. Janaka, surely so, for he wears two quivers upon his back, the arrows touching his top knot. Upon his chest are the marks of his lineage, lines of sacred ash, and a black antelope skin. His lower garment is dyed with madder, and bound by a cord of merver grass. In one hand he carries a bow and rosary, in the other a staff of sacred figwood. Orendotti, where do you suppose this boy has come from? Orendotti, but I myself am newly arrived here. Janaka, Krishtin, my curiosity knows no bounds. Goa wants to Valmiki and ask him. Tell the boy as well that some elders wish to see him. Exit! As you command. Why do you think he will come when summoned? Will not his conduct be as courteous as his appearance? What is this? Having listened respectfully to Grishton, the boy is dismissing the sages, other pupils and coming here. Gazing at him for a long time. Enter Lava. He thinks, approaching respectfully, What is happening to me? Only those who see truth can understand. The measure of his real power, cooled by modesty and softened by innocence. No one else can. This boy has the power to stir my heart, made immovable by despair. a tiny piece of magnet, moves a massive lump of iron. Lava, without knowing their names and stations, how should I salute these noble elders? There is one man atort by the elders in which there can be no fault. Lava bows his head in turn at the feet of each of you. Karandhati and Janaka. Good child, may you live long. Child, may you live a long life. She takes Lava onto her lap, aside. She takes him. She lifts his jen and looks, with tears and wonder. Come, child, how beautiful my fortune is. Not only is my lap filled, at last my dream has been fulfilled. Kasselja, child come into my lap for a moment too. Ah! Not only in the form of his dark radiant body, like a newly opened blue lotus, but in his voice too he resembles deer Rama, like the long low call of a swan whose throat is colored by eating lotus filaments. His body must be the same to the touch. as the heart of a fully opened lotus. Child, let me see your face. Royal Sage, do you not see? Look carefully. Is it not exactly like the moon face of your daughter, my daughter-in-law? Janaka. Yes, friend, I see it. I certainly see it. Kasoya. Ah, my heart is so confused that amidst scattered thoughts I am speaking wildly. Janaka! In this boy appear my daughter and Rama, a living image of the air of Raghu's line in that very form. The same radiance, the same voice, the same natural manner, even the same stainless splendor. Creator, why does my agitated mind run after this mirage? Child, is your mother alive? Do you have any memory of your father? No, I do not. Who cares for you? Lord Valmiki. Come, child, you must tell your story here. That is all I know. Soldiers, Prince Chandraketu commands that no one enter the Hermitage grounds without permission. Orondotti and Jinnaka are, Prince Chandraketu has arrived while guarding the sacrificial horse. We shall soon see him. What an auspicious day this is. Dear Lakshmana's little son is issuing a command the very syllables sound sweet as drops of nectar in my ears Sir, who is this person named Shagaketu? Have you heard the names of Dashirata's sons Rama and Lakshmana? They are the heroes of the Ramayana Laughing Certainly Lava then how could I not have heard their names? Janaka, this Chandraketu is Lokshmona's son. Lava, then he must be Amila's son and the grandson of the King of Matilla. Orandotti, clearly the boy knows the story well. Janaka, since you know the story so thoroughly, answer some questions. What are the names of the children of Dasharata's other sons, and which wives bore them? Lava, neither I nor anyone else has heard that part of the story. Janaka has the poet not composed it. Lava he has, but it has not yet been made public. portion newly enriched with dramatic flavor has been prepared for performance. The Great Sage wrote the manuscript with his own hand and sent it to Barata, author of the treatise on the threefold art of music. Janaka, for what purpose? It is said that Barata will have it performed by the Apsaraces. Janaka, all this only increases my curiosity. Valmeke is extremely careful about it. To ensure that no mishap befalls the pupils carrying the manuscript to Barada's hermitage, he has sent my brother with him, armed with bow and arrows. Kosalia, you have a brother too? Lava, I have an excellent brother named Kusha. That is, he is older than you. Lava, yes, by order of birth he is my elder. Janaka, are you twins? Lava, certainly. Janaka, tell me, how does the main story end? by the citizens malicious scandal, the king banished Queen Sita, born from the sacrificial ground, to the forest. When her labor pains began, Lakshmana left her alone in the desolate wilderness and returned. Kausalya, my innocent moon-faced daughter, what dreadful reversal of fate suddenly fell upon your flower-soft body when you were all alone. Janaka, child. When at once you had to contend with humiliation, the terrible forest, and the pains of childbirth, and packs of flesh-eating beasts, surrounded you on every side. Then interior thoughts must surely have centered upon me. Your final refuge. to Arunthiti. Who are these two noble persons? Lava looks at them with reverence, concern and curiosity. Terrified. This is Kosloya and this is Janaka. Janaka. Ah, how depraved the citizens were and how thoughtless King Rama, as I consider the terrible blow. Of this thunderbolt like calamity, the time has come to kindle my wrath. With my bower with a curse. Kassalia. Arndadi protect us. Please try to calm the angry king. Lava. For an honorable man whose dignity has been insulted, this alone is the proper form of revenge. Arndadi. But your Your Majesty Rama is your son and the unfortunate citizens are entitled to protection. Enter a noisy group of school boys. They crowd around Lava, seize his hands and antelope skin and pull him. With curiosity, reluctance and curtsy, he goes hurriedly with them. Then let neither side show fear of Raghunandana. After all, he is my priceless son. And many among the citizens are old and weak. Brahmins, children and women. Schoolboys, young master. We had heard in village after village about the appearance of a marvellous creature called a horse, and now we have seen one with our own eyes. Lava, a horse, is mentioned both in the scriptures concerning sacrificial animals and in the science of war. Tell me, what sort of creature is it? Schoolboys, listen, then. it is a great tale. Which it keeps swishing without stop. Its neck is long, and it has for hooves. No more and no fewer. It eats grass and passes droppings. The size of mangos. But enough description. It is running away. Quick! Come! Lava, my elders can see that I am being dragged away. Orondotty and Janaka, go. Child, satisfy your curiosity. Causalia, holy lady, if we do not watch him, may he live forever, I shall feel cheated. Come, let us see him go from another place. Enter the Chamberlain. The group of elders exits. Re-enter the school boys. The little rogue has gone so far so quickly that he can scarcely be seen now. Chamberlain. Valmiki has replied that you will learn the answer to your question yourselves at the proper time. Janaka. It must be a matter of the utmost importance. Arndadi friend Kausalya Grishdan, come let us go in person to see the son of Prachatas. So, Abul. Young master, look at this marvelous object. Lava. At first sight I understand, it is the horse of the Ashvameda sacrifice. So boys, how did you know? Jealousy aside. Fools! You have studied that part of the Veda and still do not understand? It must have guards, hundreds of soldiers in each division, bearing armor, maces or arrows. The army we see here is almost exactly of that kind. If you do not believe me, ask them yourselves. SHO will be a wise soldiers, why is this horse wandering under guard? Lava, the Ashvameda is the final test of the supreme sovereignty of a world conquering Chetria. to humiliate every other Kshatriya. Fired with excitement. Enter an angry and arrogant officer. Laughing. He strings his bow. All move off at a pace suited to them. This is less a horse than a banner of victory or a battle challenge. proclaiming the one true hero of all seven worlds. The enemy of the race of the ten-headed one. Lava. Ah, that is a challenge to battle. Schoolboys, what can we say? The young master truly is very learned. Lava, soldiers, you boast as though no kshatriya remained anywhere on earth. Voice offstage. What value has any other kshatriya before the Universal Emperor? over, shame on you, villains. If they are kshatriyas, then kshatriyas they certainly are. Whom do you think you can frighten? But the time for words is past. Now I shall attack, and seize that banner. Boys, surround them, rain-clods of earth upon them, and drag the horse here. Let the poor creature roam freely with the deer of the hermitage. Officer, shame on you, villain. What did you say? The king's army is ruthless and severe. It will not tolerate insolent words even from a child. Before Prince Chandraketu, destroyer of enemies, arrives in his eagerness to visit this famous forest, flee quickly through that grove of trees. Schoolboys, young master, forget the horse. The army is coming, brandishing weapons and threatening you, and the hermitage is far away. Come, let us run from here at once. Lava, what do I care if they brandish their weapons? My terrible bow is ready to yawn. It is not a weapon, but the laughing mouth of death. Greedily swallowing its prey, mad and slow, rumbling like a cloud. While its tongue, the bow string, licks its sharp front teeth. End of Act 4. Enter Chandrakethu in a chariot driven by Sumantra, bow in hand, filled with wonder, delight and apprehension. Soldiers. At last, reinforcements have arrived to help us. A chariot yoked to swift horses. Driven at speed by Sumantra. With the Kovidara Abhanna flying above. Having heard the news of battle, Chandraketu is coming. Chandraketu, look, Sumantra, look. At the forefront of the battle stands a boy warrior, showering a blizzard of arrows upon the army. His five locks stream in the wind, his boasting sounds without pause. And anger has flushed his handsome face. This is astonishing. A single boy, raised by ascetics, encircled by so vast an army, like some new, unknown shoot of Raghu's line, loses a thousand fiery arrows. From a bow that thunders terribly, and splits the temples of war elephants. The sight sets my curiosity ablaze. Sumantra, noble prince, may you live long. As I look upon this boy whose power surpasses, both gods and demons, and whose beauty is its equal. I am reminded of Rama, bow in hand. Setting out to destroy the enemies of Vishwamitra's chandraketu, my heart recoils in disgust to see so many. Attack one solitary person. He is a boy and utterly alone. While a vast army surrounds him on every side, weapons interlaced in hands as huge as palmyra trunks, men thrilled by their battle array, chariots hung with with chiming golden bells. And cloud-like war elephants who streaming ica whips the air into a gale. Sumantra, my child, even altogether they cannot withstand him. There is no question of facing him one by one. Chandraketu, faster, sir, faster. He has begun the wholesale slaughter of my attendants. Four. His boasting's thunder, swelled by the deep roar of war drums, raises a tumult greater than herds of elephants, trumpeting in mountain caves, and the hero decks the earth with heaps of twitching, headless trunks, like morsels fallen from the dreadful mouth of death after he has eaten his fill. Aside reflecting with wonder, shame and alarm, miming the headlong speed of the chariot, as though trying to remember, how can I permit a duel between Prince Chandroketu and such a supernatural being? Yet after all, we are elders of the Exhvoko House, and in these circumstances what other cause remains. Chondroketu, oh, my army, is falling back on every side. Sumontra, my child, may you live long, the warrior is now within hearing of your call. Chondroketu, sir, what name did the messenger give? Sumontra, Lava, Chondroketu, Lava, what value can such soldiers have against one so mighty as you? I am here. Face me in single combat. Fire should be met by fire alone. Enter Lava, advancing swiftly and fearlessly. Look, Prince, look. At your challenge the Bawaria stops destroying the army. As a lion cub, hearing the thunder of a cloud, leaves off slaughtering the herd of elephants. A tremendous appror of stage. Well said, Prince, well said. You are indeed a true son of Iqshvaka. See, I have turned back to meet you. Wheeling suddenly, he rushes forward in fury. Why then destroy your own people, the touchstone of your glorious Chandraket to himself. Turning stirred an apprehensive. The tremendous uproar continues offstage, with anger and contempt. He moves towards Chandraketu. Ah, how consummately speaks. This radiant descendant of the Solar Race, heroic, gracious. And at once gentle and stern, why should I trouble with those men now? honor him. Lava, shame. How these dogs insult me. They have interrupted a conversation between warriors. Chandraketu, look, sir, look. The sight is worth seeing. Brandishing his bow with confidence and eager delight. He takes aim at me while the army behind him. Presses hard upon his heels. Like a cloud bearing the rainbow. Driven backwards by a violent wind. Simuntra, even to look upon him, well, only the noble prince is capable. Of that, we are overwhelmed with wonder. Chandraketu, worthy soldiers. You are an army beyond counting, while he stands alone. You have chariots, elephants, and horses. He is on foot. You are protected by armor. He wears an aesthetic steerskin. You are grown men while on his body. The first radiance of youth has only begun to shine. To raise weapons in such a battle would bring shame upon you and upon me. Astonished. Reflecting. He concentrates. Apprehensively. What? Has compassion melted him? There is no time to waste. I shall arrest the army with the divine dreambaka weapon. Sumatra, why has the uproar of our army suddenly ceased. Lava, at last that insolent fellow is in sight. Sumatra, my child, I believe the prince has employed. The Jumbaka weapon. Chandraketu, there can be no doubt. Like a dreadful union of darkness and lightning. First blinding, then dazzling. It strikes even eyes that remain fixed open. My soldiers stand motionless, as though painted in a picture. The invincible Jumbaka weapon has surely been used. This is a marvel, nothing less than a marvel. Black is the darkness stored in the womb of hell. Yet glowing red with a glare of heated, shining brass. The Jumbaka weapon overspreads the sky. Like peaks of the Vindyas torn up by a roaring wind. That proclaims the end of an age. Their caves taunulate from within by lightning issuing through masses of cloud. But how did he obtain the Jimbukka weapon? Presumably from the son of Prashadas. My child, weapons such as these, the Jimbukka above all, are not acquired in that way. Four, these weapons are, as it were, the offspring of Krishoshva. From him they came to Kashikha. Kashikha to dear Roma, and ever since they have remained with Roma alone. Yet others too have beheld them, men illumined, by their own purity, who became seers of the mantras by themselves. Each regarding the other. They gaze at one another with affection and love. My child, be on your God, your adversary has returned. Both princes, how gentle this young man looks! Is this a sudden meeting of minds? The influence of his countless virtues. Some old friendship, swiftly formed in a former birth. Or is he a kinsman hidden from us by fate? That at the mere sight of him my heart, is bound in single-minded enchantment. each regarding the other looking at lover, tearfully, aside aside it is the common nature of the soul that one person should feel an instinctive affection for another particular person people of the world describe it figuratively as the eyes being captivated or love at first sight The scriptures therefore declare that the thing is real, however groundless and incomprehensible it may appear. There is no remedy against affection born without a curse. There must be some subtle trade of love that binds living beings together in their deeper selves. Both princes. How can I lose an arrow at this body? I dawned with the delicate insignia of royalty, when at a very meeting my limbs tremble, with longing to embrace him. Yet what other cause is there but to take up arms, before such overwhelming power? And when he lies far beyond the reach of any weapon's strength? What use are weapons at all? But if, after drawing my sword, I shrink from battle? What will he say of me? The savor of the warrior's path is harsh. It checks the spontaneous current of affection. Sumontra, my heart. Why are you so widely agitated? Fate has taken away the only seed of my hope. Once the creeper has been cut down, how can a new shooter rise? Chandraketu, Sumontra, I wish to descend from the chariot. Sumontra, why? Chandraketu, first, it is the proper way to honor a warrior. Second, as you know, it observes the kshatriya tradition. According to the interpreters of the law, a chariote warrior must never fight a man who is on foot. Sumontra, I am caught in a terrible dilemma. How can a man like me prevent him from doing what is right? Or permitted did whose very essence is sheer recklessness. My revered father consults you on every question. Of law or statecraft, you, his father's dear friend. Why, then? This hesitation? Cementra, my child, may you live long, your judgment accords with duty. This is right conduct in battle, the eternal way of righteousness. house, and the warrior's path followed by the lines of Raghu's house. Embracing him with tears of affection. Sadly. Your words are beyond praise. History and legend, the teachings of duty, the ancestral customs of Raghu's line, all these, are known to you alone. Sumantra. Dear child, how many days can it be? your beloved father. The conqueror of Indrajit was born and here his own son already walks the warrior's path. How complete is the good fortune of Dasharata's line, Chandraketu. So long as the eldest of Raghu's house remains unfulfilled, how can our line attain fulfillment? That single thought consumes my father and my three other fathers with grief. Sumantra, Ah! Chandra Kedu's words pierce. The tender quick of my heart. Lava, to speak truly, the unfolding of feeling here is wholly confused. At moonrise the night-blooming lotus rejoices. And at the sight of him my eyes too are delighted. Yet my arm, its terrible wounds laid open. Throbbing with love for the heavy bow. And its cruel string that resounds so fiercely, longs for battle. Miming his descent from the chariot. Sir, Chandraketu of the Solar Race bows before you. May you possess a sovereignty unconquerable, pure and majestic as Kokutstas. May the eternal God, the Boar, grant you lasting welfare. And Father. May the sun, father of your race, inspire you in battle. May Metruvaruna, the preceptor of your preceptors, and your own preceptor too, be gracious to you. May you receive the strength of Indra, Vishnu, Agni, the Maruts, and Supanna. May the mighty mantra sound of the bow strings of Roma and Lakshmana bring you victory. All the prince, you look magnificent upon your chariot. There is no need for so great a display of courtesy. Then let the fortunate prince adorn a chariot as well. Sir, have the prince mount his chariot again. A little embarrassed. Smiling. Then you two must accept Prince Chandrakethu's request. Lover, who would hesitate to use an implement of his own? But we forest dwellers are not accustomed to riding in chariots. Sumontra, my child, you remember the claims of both self-respect and generosity. If Roma, king of the Ishvakos, could see this conduct of yours, his heart would overflow with affection. Lover, I understand that the royal sage himself is exceedingly generous, or so, at least, I have heard. We do not ordinarily oppose such a right, and who in the world would not honor the king's countless virtues. Yet the challenge proclaimed by the guardians of the horse, a provocation flung at every criteria, has brought about this change in me. Chandra Ketu, are you offended even by the splendor of my father's immeasurable power? Lover, whether I am or not is beside the point. I ask only this, I have heard that Rogva is a self-controlled man, it is said that neither he know his subjects are arrogant. Why then, do his people speak words fit for demons? The sages say that demonic speech is speech. Fit only for the intoxicated or the proud. It is the root of every feud, the very class of the world. So have men condemned it. of the opposite kind. They praise in these words. The wise declare that gracious speech is the wishful feeling cow itself. It yields all that one desires, drives one away. Gives birth to fame, and wipes out every evil deed. It is the very mother of supreme prosperity. How gallus is this young disciple of Valmiki. Every word he speaks is tipped in the nature of a sage. Chandraketu, regarding what you just said, are you offended? Even by the splendor of my father's power? I ask only this. Is the exercise of a kshatriya's duty subject to limitation? You do not know the lord of the Ikshvokos in the list. Please abandon this obstinacy now. By destroying the soldiers you have certainly displayed your strength. But it is unwise to vie with the conqueror of Jamadagnya. Sir, why proclaim with such fanfare that the king defeated Jammadagnia? It is an established truth that Brahmin's strength lies in speech, whereas Ekshetria's strength lies in his arm. Jammadagnia was a Brahmin who took up the sword. What glory does the king gain by defeating such a man? Somewhat agitated. Sir, enough of this dispute. This person must be some new incarnation of the primal being. If even the son of Bregu is no adversary in his eyes. And if he refuses to admit that Father Rama's righteous deeds could have secured the safety of all seven worlds. Ex-Sint All A Vidyadhar and his wife appear in a chariot moving through the sky. Reflecting He does so. Looking Ex-Sint Both Accent Booth which understands the other's intent. They tremble so violently that their crests come loose. Their eyes naturally pink as lotus petals. Of themselves turn blood red. And a sudden, frenzied dance of their arched brows. Makes each face resemble the dark mark upon the full moon. Or a black be hovering over a blossoming white lotus. Both princes, come! Let us find a place better suited to battle. End of Act 5. Interlude to Acts 6. Vidyatera, ah, behold the prowess of these two princes of the solar race. Locked in a furious struggle in a battle that began without warning, the beauty of Kshatriya power has gained a new brilliance. And gods and demons themselves are speechless with wonder. Look, my dear. They bend bows hung with shining golden bells. With a mighty twang of their heavy strings. Raise a terrifying tumult, their crests stream without pause. Arrows rain down, and the battle, mounting with dramatic violence. Strikes terror into the whole world. For the welfare of both, the drums of heaven. Resound with the deep thunder of clouds. Then let flowers fall unceasingly upon these two perfected heroes. Dense showers laden with open golden lotuses. Dripping nectar from the tender, jewel-like buds. Of the immortal trees of the gods. Vidyadari, but why has the sky suddenly turned so tony? And why has the dreadful flash of lightning began its wild dance? Interlude to Act 6. Vidyadara, what can be happening now? Has the third eye of the darkened red god open fully. Lazing like sunlight spun upon to Vastras' lake? Ah, I understand. Prince Chandraketu has released. The weapon of fire, and its flames are spreading everywhere. Now, all the other celestial chariots have fled. The yaktail banners are singed into rainbow colors. And the flames upon our own standard make it look. For a moment, as though it had been dyed saffron. A marvel! The god of fire has appeared, sparks bursting from him. Crack like thunderbolts, how terribly the flames leap and lick. The heat spreading on every side is unbearable. I had better shield my beloved with my body, and move to a safer distance. Vidyadari, ah, the touch of my husband's body has shut out the heat. and smooth as a purist pearl, so tender and complete. Then delight my eyes roll back and close. Vidyothara, why, what have I done? And yet, one need do nothing at all. The mere joy of companionship removes sorrow. What a great blessing it is to possess someone who loves you. Interlude to Axxix. Vidyothara, why has the sky suddenly darkened with clouds? Fluid billowing masses adorned with flashing lightning. Black as the throat of a peacock madden with delight? Vidyothara, it must be the effect of the Verna weapon released by Prince Lava. What is this? Thousands upon thousands of swelling clouds. Have quenched the weapon of fire. Vidyothara, ah, how delightful it is to me. But alas, every excess gives birth to danger. Now, the world is shivering with cold, enveloped in dense and terrible darkness. Thickened by clouds roaring like the wind of dissolution, as though the entire universe were struggling inside the cavernous mouth of time. Yawning horribly to swallow it in a single gulp, or as though it had entered the belly of Narayana, all the doors of his senses closed. In the yogic sleep at the end of an age. Well done, Prince Chenaketu. Well done. This is precisely the moment to release the wind weapon. And he surely has released it for. The wind has torn the swelling clouds apart. As knowledge dissolves delusion into Brahman. Vidyallari, my lord, who is this descending in terror between the two princes? In his celestial chariot, waiting the end of his robe with uplifted hand. And from far away, striding with gentle words to stop the battle? Interlude to Act 6. Vidyadhara, it is the lord of Raghu's line, returning from the slaying of Shambhuka. At the great man's words, both honor him and cease their battle. Lava falls silent, while Chandrakirti bows profoundly. May the kings meeting with his own sons bear an auspicious fruit. Come, let us go now. End of the interlude. At the opening of the Sinha Rama, Lava and Chandraketu, who is bowing before Rama. descending from the Pushpaka chariot. He raises and embraces him with tears of affection. Looking at Lava, Rama, Chandraketu, moon of the solar rays, come to me at once and embrace me tightly. Your limbs are cool as blocks of eyes, able to soothe even the burning of a heart such as mine. Are you well? And are the divine weapons dwelling within your body also well? Chandraketu, all is well because I have had the good fortune to meet Lava. This beautiful prince of marvelous deeds. I beg that father. upon this supreme and noble hero with the same affection. He bears me, or with even greater affection. Rama, how fortunate that my child has found a new friend. His nature is at once unfathomable and beneficent. It is as though the science of weapons had taken bodily form. to protect the worlds, as though Kshatriya duty had become incarnate, to guard the treasure of sacred knowledge, as though all power had come into full flower. All virtues had gathered in one place, and all the merit of the world had accumulated, to stand here visibly Revealed. Aside. Ah, what a great man, purity of radiance and body, the one mighty refuge of trust, affection and devotion, the gentleness of supreme righteousness made flesh. This is a wonder, hostility has vanished and a joyous tenderness wells up. Where has my insolence dissolved? That humility now overwhelms me? At the very sight of him I have fallen under his power, why? Yet great man, like sacred places, possess some influence of a measurable worth. Rama, how does he suddenly bring rest to my sorrow? And for what reason does affection awaken in my inmost being? to say that affection requires a cause is self contradictory. There is something with source of neutral attraction. Love does not depend on a least upon an outward cause. Why does the white lotus open at sunrise? Or the moonstone releases due at moonrise? Joyfully, gazing with humility and curiosity, embracing him affectionately, aside, allowed. Chandraketu, who is this? Chandraketu, dear friend, this is my revered father. Lava, then by right he is my father too, since you have called me. Your dear friend. But in the Ramayana you address four men. By that title. Tell me, which of them is he? Chandraketu, he is my eldest father. Lava, then this is the lord of Raghu's line. How fortunate that this day has dawned to grant me sight of him. Father Lava, the disciple of the son of Prachatas. Bows before you. Rama, my child, may you live long, come to me. Enough, enough, put aside this formality. Embrace me tightly again and again. Your touch is like the inner petal of a firm, full-grown lotus. Tender and smooth yet strong. and cool as the heartwood of sandal or a moonbeam, reviving the very breath of life. Lava, he feels such spontaneous affection for me, and in my ignorance I have committed so great an offense against him. Even raised weapons and attacked his men. May my revered father forgive Lava's childish offense today. What offense has my child committed? Chandraketu, hearing the guardians of the horse proclaim father's might. He became eager to display his own valor. valor. Rama, but that is the ornament of Akshatriya. A man of immense strength cannot endure another's display of power. It is his natural disposition, not an afficcation. If the sun, maker of day, continually scorches a sunstone with his rays, Will it not, as though insulted, spit forth fire? Looking Lava concentrates Exit His wrath too is astonishing. Father, look, my dear friend. This hero released the drumbaka weapon and held the soldiers utterly motionless. Rama, child lava, withdraw the weapon. Chandraketu. You too go and reassure the humbled, helpless soldiers. Chandraketu, as you command. Lava, the weapon has been pacified. My child, the deployment and withdrawal of these weapons, together with their secret mantras, are handed down through a lineage. Brahma and the other gods performed austerities. a thousand years and more for the welfare of the Vedic way of life. Then these weapons, which those ancient masters became worthy to behold, worthy embodied forms of their own ascetic power. Thereafter Krishashiva imparted the complete secret lore of their mantras. To Vishwamitra of Kusha's line, a disciple who had remained with him. For a thousand years and more. That holy sage bestowed them upon me. Such was the former succession. May I ask, how did that succession? Reach the noble prince. The weapons appear to their own accord before both of us. Selecting. Why should that be impossible? Through the right-ning. Of extraordinary merit from a former birth, such power may arise. But why did you use the dual number? We are two brothers, twins. Then where is the other? Bandayana. Bandayana. Dear friend, do you say that the King's soldiers made so merciless an assault upon lava may he live long, then the sun-like title of king shall set from the world, and the fire of the kshatriya weapon shall soon be extinguished. Who is this now, dark as a sapphire? Whose voice makes the hair rise upon my body? As buds burst upon the Kadamba. The moment a young black cloud begins its low thunder. It is my elder brother Kusha returning from Bharata's hermitage. Eagaly. Child, call your brother. May he live long. He goes. Enter Kusha. Certainly. with anger, curiosity, eagerness and resolution, sounding his bowstring. He advances with long strides, coming near. Since the age of Manu, son of Viva's van, these kings of the Solar Race have granted fearlessness even to Indra and have kept blazing the fierce fire of their Kshatriya power. To burn the arrogant, if today I gain the chance to fight the king of the Solar Race, how blessed my bow will be, its string consecrated in the terrible flame of my radiant divine weapons. Rama, what extraordinary manliness dwells in this kshatriya boy? His glance declares that he does not care a blade of grass. For any creature in the universe, he moves with tremendous force, as though making the earth herself bow. Young as he is, he bears within him the grave weight of a mountain. Is the heroic mood approaching in person, or pride itself embodied? Lava, victory to my elder brother. Kusha, my child, may you live long. What is this news of battle? Lava, nothing. Brother, swallow your pride before this man, and conduct yourself humbly. Kusha, why? The man standing there is the lord of Ragu himself. He bears affection for both of us, and is eager to see you before him. Thoughtfully. They both advance. Although he is a royal personage, no fault will attach to us if we bow before him. Brother, behold the great man, the majesty of all his supernatural deeds, may be read in his grave and radiant bearing. Looking, approaching, he embraces him aside. They move and sit in the proper order. Ah, his body breeds peace, and his radiance purifies. How fittingly the poet of the Ramayana transformed the goddess's speech into visible form. Father, Kusha, disciple of the son of Prechitas. Hose before you, Rama, come to me. Yes, come, may you live long. Your body is tender as a cloud filled with the water of immortality, and this man, moved by a father's love, longs to embrace you. But this child, as though the very essence of my body, liquefied by affection, had streamed from every limb, and now stood outside me, as though my consciousness, my elemental self, had taken embodied form beyond me. Why is he drenched in the current of my heart? Which trembles with this profound joy, and when I embrace his limbs, why does he in turn drench me in a true flood of nectar? Lava, father, the sun is scorching my head. My father sit for a moment. Beneath the shade of the saltry? Rama, whatever my child desires. Aside, studying them closely, reflecting, tearfully, weeping. Ah, though they are modest, their manner of walking, standing and sitting suggests that Kusha and Lava are future emperors. The royal dignity inherent in their bodies enhances the lovely beauty of every limb, as rays enhance the stainless moon or drops of nectar a fully opened lotus. I see further signs that these two are princes of Raghu's line. He's dark as the neck of a full-grown pigeon, sloping shoulders like a bull's, steady gazes like a lion at rest, and voices deep and rich as festival drums. Not only do they bear the form of my own house, every limb of both princes clearly resembles. Janaka's daughter as well, on close observation. The inference is easy. It is as though the face of my beloved has appeared again. Beautiful as the freshest lotus. The same face, lovely with the gleam of flawless white teeth. The same graceful ears. And though their eyes are red and dark, the same impress of her beautiful nature. This is the very forest where the son of Prachatas dwells. And where, I have heard, the queen was abandoned. Then there are, their appearance, age, and radiance. It also astonishes me that the Divine Weapons appeared of themselves, as the command I gave the weapons in the picture gallery. Now born fruit, for I have heard that even a great men of old could not obtain them without initiation through an unbroken succession. Then this boundless joy and sorrow rising together in my heart give conviction to my wavering soul and above all I knew that the queen carried twins in her womb. Long ago when intimacy had blossomed and my affection grew and became secure and she was more at ease with me in private. Though natural modesty still restrained her gaze, I was the first to discover, by the touch of my palm, that there were two swellings in the womb. She herself learned it only some days later. Is there some way I might ask them? Father, what has happened? This rain of tears has made your face, the source of the world's welfare, like a night load of stringed, in the dew of dawn. aside allowed with a shy smile, affection and grief. He stands as though stunned, in anguish. How terrible! Another merciless blow upon the tender quick of my heart. Queen, it was truly so. Alas for the conduct of life, discordant. Confused events ending in a fruitless, broken love. only scorched pain, where shall such happiness be found again? And that perfect trust which made it grow, that solicitude each bore for the other, that deep-flowing savor of wonder, that oneness of two hearts, in sorrow and in joy alike, this sinful breath of mine still clings and will not depart. Ah, how terrible! They have reminded me of that one uniquely painful time when countless qualities of my beloved were revealed all at once, when the girl's bud-like breasts had newly begun to swell, and in only a few days had grown a little fuller. When desire, deepened by the combined force of youth, love, and curiosity was bold within her heart, yet shy upon her body, lava, then hear this verse, spoken by the Lord of Raghu Tassita. While they rested in the Mundakini grove near Mount Chitrakoota. As though the stone seat before you have been kept for you alone, and the kisara trees around it were showering flowers. Rama, how wonderfully innocent. A child can be, especially one raised in the forest. Queen, do you remember our intimate conversation on that occasion. How terrible this is! With the minds I I see your face. Your brow bright as the moon. Your hair stirred by the gentle wind from the mandakini. Cool with beads of perspiration. Your cheeks open and lovely, without a saffron mark. And your exquisitely graceful ears. More beautiful for having no earrings. Oh Fate! Even in separation, the beloved surely gives some consolation. For through continual, profound meditation, I create her before my eyes. But when even that resource is taken away. The world becomes a desolate forest. And the heart feels as though it were slowly roasting over a smoldering fire of chaff. Vasishtha, Valmiki, Dasharata's queens, Janaka, and Orondotti, terrified by the news of the boys battle are at last approaching old age fetters their feet and the hermitage lies far away yet though weariness slows their bodies their minds run on ahead looking in anguish He rises. All move away, overcome with grief. What? Arundhati, Basishta, my mothers, and Janaka are here. The very thought of seeing them is unbearable. Alas, Father Janaka himself is coming this way, like a thunderbolt. about to fall upon my wretched head. Once at the celebration of their children's marriage, our two fathers met in the presence of Vasishtha and the others and rejoiced to see how worthy the alliance was. After all this ruin, how can I look upon such a friend of my father and not shatter into a thousand pieces. And yet, what deed is too difficult for Rama? Voice offstage, alas! The moment they beheld the Lord of Raghu, whose beauty is now preserved. Only in His radiance, His mothers, already distraught. With trying to revive the fainting Janaka, Have themselves fallen unconscious. Rama, father, mothers, do not waste compassion upon a sinner such as I, I showed none. To the woman who was the entire good fortune of Janaka and Raghu's line, I must go and bow before them. Kusha and Lava, this way, father. End of Act 6 Enter Lakshman. Enter Rama. Lakshman, ah! has Valmiki, by his ascetic power, gathered together the entire living world, all mortals and immortals, gods and demons, men, women, animals, and every moving and unmoving being of the middle-air, and summoned with us all Brahmins, Kshatriyas, townspeople, and country folk? My elder brother has also commanded me, dear Lakshman, Valmiki has invited us to witness his dramatic composition performed by celestial nymphs. Go therefore to the theatre on the bank of the Ganges and see that the spectators are seated in their proper places. I have arranged suitable seats for mortals and immortals alike. And look, out of reverence for Valmiki my elder brother is coming this way. Though still a king, he has adopted the stern observance of an ascetic. Rama, dear brother Lakshman, are all who Who understand the art of drama in their places? Lakshman ade are. Rama, let these two boys, Kusha and Lava, be given seeds of honour equal to Prince Chandrakethus. They sit. Knowing my lord's affection for them, I have already done so. The royal pavilion is prepared here. Let the performance begin. The Son of Prashatars, who relates the truth exactly as it is, makes this appeal to every moving and unmoving creature assembled here, through the profound insight made possible by Asajj's vision, I have composed a brief work that is at once purifying and rich in dramatic feeling, filled with pathos and wonder. In view of the gravity of its subject, please give it your undivided attention. He means that sages behold righteousness directly. The inside of holy seers is truth-bearing, untouched by the dust of falsehood and never broken, therefore it must never be regarded with doubt. My husband. Prince Loxmono. I am alone and without protection in the forest. My labour The pains have begun, and terrible wild beasts are eager to devour me. Wretched as I am, I have no course left but to throw myself into the mandakini. Aside How dreadful this is, far worse than I had imagined. Exit Stun The daughter of all supporting earth. Queen abandoned by the King in the Great Forest. When the pains of childbirth begin, leaps into the Divine Ganges. Rama, Queen. Queen. Look, Lakshmana is here. Lakshmana, but, brother, this is only a play. Rama, Queen, my beloved companion in the Dandaka Forest. This calamity befell you because of Rama. Lakshmana, brother, keep watching the story. Enter Sita, almost unconscious, supported by earth and Ganga, each goddess carrying one of Sita's sons in her arms. I have hardened my heart. I am ready. Rama, dear brother, I am entering a realm of darkness where neither cause nor remedy can be seen. Hold me, both goddesses. Beautiful Vadahi, master yourself. By good fortune your travail has succeeded. In the river you have born two sons. Who will sustain the line of Raghu recovering herself. She feigns by good fortune I have born sons my husband falling at Rama's feet looking he fans him brother dear brother what happiness that our purpose has been fulfilled A magnificent new branch has sprung from the tree of Ragu's line. Ah, my brother is motionless, overwhelmed by a surging flood of tears. Child, recover yourself, we beg you. Regaining Consciousness Divine Lady, who are you? And who are you? Earth, this is Badjarathi, the Tutularie Goddess of your husband's house. Divine lady, I bow before you. May you enjoy complete good fortune in accordance with your fidelity as a wife. Great Grace has been shown to us. And this is your mother, the Goddess Earth. She embraces Sita and Fiends. Mother, you see me in this condition. Earth, come, child, come, my little daughter. Excitedly. Ah, both Earth and Ganga have come to aid my sister-in-law. Looking. Recovering consciousness. This is surely a cause for joy, and yet a source of profound pathos. Bhajyurthi, even all supporting Earth can tremble, so powerful is love for a child. Yet it is the same in all, the knot of attachment, the source of unrest within every conscious creature, the very thread of worldly life. Child Vadahi, Goddess Earth, please compose yourselves. Earth, Goddess, how can I compose myself when I gave birth to Sita? Her long residence among the demons was one thing. For abandonment, that terrible humiliation, was another. Bhagyarthy. When destiny is about to bear its fruit, what creature has the power to close its gate? Earth, true. But was this right for dear Rama? The hand he held in childhood, when he himself was a boy, no regard for that. None for me, none for Janaka, none for fire. None for her humility, none for his own children. Sita, my husband. All this has made me remember you again. Birth, what? You still have a husband. With tears of shame. What mother says is true. Mother Earth, I am the very man you describe. Bogyurthi, Earth, you are the body of all mortal life. How then can you be angry with your son-in-law as though you knew nothing at all? The dreadful scandal had spread far and wide. While the purifying ordeal by fire took place in Lanka, how could the people here believe in it? The hereditary wealth of the Ichabaka House is to keep the whole world content. In such a crisis, a truly terrible crisis. What could our child have done? Vajmana, the goddess's inner light shines unobstructed in all beings. Bhagyuthi, even so, I bow before you with folded hands. Rama, mother, you have also shown grace to the line of Bajratha. Earth, I have always been gracious to you all. At first there was only the unbearable pain born of love, it is not that I failed to understand dear Rama's love for Sita. With a burning heart, fate compelled him to abandon her. And today he remains alive only through some superhuman courage. And the accumulated merit of his subjects. How profound is the compassion of elders for those they regard as their children? Weeping, with folded hands. Mother, take me to yourself and absorb me into your body. What more could she ask than that? Heaven forbid! May you live a thousand years before such a dissolution occurs. Earth, child, you must care for your two little sons. I have no protector. What can I do for them? How can you speak so when in truth you are not without protection? What kind of protector does this unfortunate woman possess? O heart, you are cold steel. Though you are the source of the world's good fortune, how can you hold yourself in contempt? Through our relationship with you, our own holiness is increased. Brother, did you hear? An uproar of stage. Let the whole world hear. Another still more wondrous event is about to occur. How has the whole sky become encircled by flame? We understand. The divine weapons and the dream Bhaka weapons. Whose succession of masters was Kriyash, Kaushika and Rama. are now appearing of their own accord. Voices offstage. Queen Sita, we bow before you. As the joy of Raghus line declared in the picture gallery, our destiny from this day lies with your sons. What good fortune, the deities of the weapons. My husband, your act of grace is manifest even today. My brother told them, from this day forward, Stay Forward, These Weapons Will Unfailingly Serve Your Children. Supreme Weapons, We Bow Before You. You have shown us grace, we are blessed. Whenever these boys remember you in their hearts, please appear and serve them. Rama, a wave of compassion has risen, breaking upon a lake of wonder and joy, and has brought me to a state that cannot be described. Both Goddesses rejoice child. Your two little sons have now become the equals of dear Rama. Sita, Divine Lady, who will perform the kshatriya sacraments for them? Rama. Alas, Sita herself, the power of Raghu's line, ever guarded by Vasishtha and the family priests, can find no one to perform the sacraments of her sons. Bhagirthi, daughter, do not be anxious about that. After the two boys are weaned, we shall place them under Valmiki's protection and he will perform their Kshatriya sacraments. For the houses of Raghu and Janka alike, the son of Prachetas, is no lesser preceptor than the sages Vasishtha and Angiras. Ex-Sint Ganga, Earth and Sita. He feigns. Bhagyathi has considered every matter with the greatest care. Lakshmana, brother, I speak the truth, for many reasons I am fully convinced that those two boys are Kusha and Lava. They too command the weapons from birth. Both princes received their sacraments from the great sage, son of Prachatas. And both are twelve years old. Rama, dear brother, the mere thought throws my heart into turmoil and drives me out of my senses. Earth, child, come with me now and sanctify the netherworld. Sita, mother, take me to yourself and absorb me into your body. I can no longer endure the changes and reversals of this world. Rama, what answer will she give? Earth, child, obey my command and wait until your two sons are weaned. After that, do as you wish. Bhajyurthi, so be it. Rama, has Vada he vanished. Queen, my beloved companion in the Dandaka Forest, goddess of virtue, have you resolved to depart for the other world? Looking. Looking. Enter Arunthi and Sita. Valmiki, protect us. Is this all the conclusion your poem offers? Voice offstage, stop the orchestra. All mortals, every moving and unmoving creature. Behold the sacred marvel bestowed by Valmiki. Lakshmana. The waters of the Ganges seem to be churning. And the sky is filled with divine sages. A miracle. Sita and the goddesses, Ganga and earth, are rising from the depths. Voice offstage. World honored are in Dadi. Look graciously upon us, Ganga and earth. We entrust Sita to your protection. The ideal wife who has kept her sacred vows. Lakshmana, what happiness, what a miracle! Brother, look, look! Alas, my brother has still not regained consciousness. Arun Dadi. Child, this modest hesitation is unnecessary. Put it aside. Come quickly, and with the touch of your beloved hand. Restore my child Rama to consciousness. Touching him fearfully. Regaining consciousness joyfully. Looking with joy and wonder. Ashamed. He bows. My husband, please master yourself. Rama, ah, what is this? Queen. and Mother Orondottie, all my elders, and Rishi Shringda, and Shanta rejoicing with them. Orondottie, my child, over there is the Goddess of Bajuratha's line, the gracious Gonga. Voice offstage, Lord of the world, dear Rama, remember the request I made during the viewing of the pictures. Be gracious to your daughter-in-law Sita, as Orondottie is. Now I am discharged from that obligation. Orondottie, and there is your mother-in-law, Earth. Voice offstage, years ago, when you abandoned Sita, you made this request, may you live long, Earth, protect your honoured daughter, Jonaki. Great King, today I have fulfilled that request concerning my child. Rama, how is this possible? Though Rama is guilty of a terrible offence, both goddesses have shown him compassion. Orandotti, people of town and countryside. This woman has been entrusted to Orandotti's protection, and John of E and earth have showered praise upon her. Formerly the god of fire, Vaishvanara, testified to her virtue. Gods and Brahmins have extolled her as a woman of savour trees lineage. Except once more Queen Sita, born from the sacrificial ground. Tell me, good people, what is your judgment? How sternly Arun Dadi has rebuked the people. The whole living world bows before my sister-in-law, while the guardians of the quarters and the seven sages honor her with a shower of flowers. Lord of the world, dear Rama, in accordance with sacred law, entrust the duties of the sacrifice to your beloved partner in righteousness, the living holy original of the golden image. Aside Does my husband know how to suit Sita sorrow? as the Divine Lady commands. Our purpose is fulfilled. I have received a new life. Sister-in-law, this shameless Lakshmana prostrates himself fully before you. My child, remain as you are and live long. Exit! Valmiki, please bring forward Kusha and Lava. Rama's two sons born from Sita's womb. and Lakshmana. What happiness, everything is true. Overcome with Dears. Enter Valmiki with Kusha and Lava. Where are my two little sons? Dear children Kusha and Lava, this Lord of Raghu's line is your father. This Lakshmana is your uncle. Queen Sita is your mother and this royal sage Janaka is your maternal grandfather. Looking with joy, Denden is un-wonder. Is my father here too? Kusha and Lava, father, mother, grandfather. Embracing them joyfully. it is only through accumulated merit that I have regained you, my two children. Doing so. Come, Kusha, my child, and you too, Lava. Give your mother a long embrace, as though she had been born again. Kusha and Lava, how fortunate we are. Holy Sage, I bow before you. And a pror offstage. Child, remain as you are and live long. Rising and looking about. The Lord of Mathura, having destroyed Lovanna, is approaching. When auspicious events come, they come like a flood. Exint all. All this is truly happening to me, and yet I can scarcely believe it. But such is the nature of good fortune. Valmiki, dear Rama, can I perform any further auspicious service for you? Rama, what could be better than all this? Yet perhaps this blessing. May this story, which purifies from sin, and generously bestows every good. Be at once auspicious and delightful, like the mother of the world and the Ganges. May learn people's savor it embodied upon the stage. The literary art of an accomplished poet. Who knows the sacred mystery of speech? End of Act 7 Above Buddies play Rama's last act.

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