महावीरचरितम् (महाकवि भवभूति - वीररस-प्रधान रामकथा नाटक सम्पूर्ण ७ अङ्क सटीक)

37] Act II, Daṇḍakā Revisited — Translation [—ii. 19² abounding in [holy] bathing-places and hermitages and moun- tains and rivers—[they] appear to be, familiar as they have been to me, the [same old] regions belonging to the wilderness of Daṇḍakā. 14 Śambūka—Surely this is Daṇḍakā; and—as I have learnt—by Your Majesty when formerly living here— Fourteen thousand Demons, frightful in their deeds, and the three; Dūshaṇa,¹ Khara, and Trimūrdhan, in battle were slain. 15 And hence it was that in such a saintly resort—in this Janasthāna—even timid persons like me could roam at will, apprehending danger from nowhere. Rāma—So, not merely Daṇḍakā, but this is even Janasthāna? Śambūka—Assuredly: For, smiting all creatures with horror—hosts of furious and savage beasts infesting [all] its inaccessible mountain-recesses— there in sooth are those extensive forests outlying the skirts of Janasthāna and stretching [from there] towards the south. For— Noiseless and [profoundly] silent in places; in places resounding to the roarings of ferocious beasts; huge and horrible serpents, stretched out in repose, making with their [fiery] breath [the whole forest] ablaze: these [indeed] are those bordering regions having [very] little water flashing in their clefts, so that the thirsty lizards [must] drink the sweat exuded by [mighty] pythons! 16 Rāma—I do [indeed] behold Janasthāna, once the abode of [the demon] Khara; and as if [happening] just before my eyes those former events I do now experience! 17 Looking carefully all around. Yes (hi): And the daughter of the King of Videha [my Sītā] always loved these woodlands (ārāma). Here, to be sure, are those [very] forests: Than this can anything be more terrible? With tears. 'With thee will I dwell in those dales where the scents are sweet' —[this was her thought, and] with that alone here was she happy—such was her love [for me]! 18 Though doing nothing, by the very joy [of being together] we chase away all sorrow: Indeed it is a treasure indescribable when some one has some one to love. 19 Śambūka—Let us, if you please (tad), turn away from these impenetrable [forests]. But here are these others,—studded with hills that wear the soft tinge of a lusty and tuneful peacock's throat—decked with clusters of ¹ For the names see Introduction, § 18, H and I.