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

v. 21¹—] Bhavabhūti — Uttara-Rāma-Charita [78 of [Daśaratha] my sires’ sire, what is it then that makes your worship hesitate? Sumantra—Yes, my long-lived one, even so: thy sentiments are in strict accord with the law: For, this is the rule on the battle-field; this is the eternal law: and this also is the heroic course of conduct pursued by the Lions of the [race of] Raghu. 22 Chandraketu—Most apposite are your worship’s words: History, chronicles, the mandates of law, and also the traditions of the family of Raghu—these none but your honour knows [thoroughly]. 23 Sumantra, embracing him in affection and with tears— Not many, my dear child, [not many] have been the days since your father, the dear [Lakshmaṇa], vanquished even that van- quisher of Indra [Indrajit, son of Rāvaṇa]. And thou, the son of such a father, art also following the path of heroes. Happy it is indeed that Daśaratha’s family has attained stability! 24 Chandraketu, with sorrow— When the head of the Raghu-family [Rāma] is yet without stability [in the form of issue], wherein consists the stability of our family? It is this grief that weighs upon our three other sires.¹ 25 Sumantra—Alas! These words of Chandraketu, they pierce the vitals of my heart! Lava—Forsooth! diverse feelings struggle in me for precedence: As in the rise of the full moon the lotus-creeper finds its joy, even so does my sight [find its joy] in him: nevertheless it is fighting that this [my arm] desires—my arm which has fixed its love on this heavy bow, vocal with the string that resounds with a cruel twang, [my arm] with its wrist (mukha) marked by an open gaping scar.² 26 Chandraketu, alighting—Worthy [Sumantra, this is] Chandraketu of the Solar race, saluting you. Sumantra—May the holy, resplendent, and invulnerable lustre of a Kakutstha ³ be thine: May the Eternal God [Vishṇu, incarnate as] the Boar bless thee with happiness! 27 Furthermore,— May the Divine Sun uphold thee in thy combat—he who is the ¹ Literally, ‘three other fathers’ = his father would, of course, be Rāma. Lakshmaṇa and his two uncles, Bharata ² Due to contact with the bow-string. and Śatrughna. The ‘fourth father’ ³ A famous ancestor of Rāma.