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

89] Act VI, Princes Recognized — Translation [—vi. 27¹ Like the innermost essence of affection exuded from every particle of my body—as if the very substance of my soul, issuing from here and standing there visibly before me—besprinkled, as it were, with the very meltings of my heart when stirred up with an intense emotion of joy: him as I embrace, he seems to be, as it were, pouring a stream of ambrosial juice [upon me]. 22 Lava—Father, upon our brows the hot-rayed [sun] is burning. Will you therefore deign to take a seat a while in the dense shade of this Sāla tree? Rāma—Yes, if it is agreeable to my son. *They move about and sit down in the proper manner.*¹ Rāma, to himself— Ha! Although they are deferential in their conduct, these postures in walking and standing and sitting, both of Kuśa and of Lava, they are things that bespeak their [future] sovereignty. 23 These stately graces that seem inherently to belong to it: they set off a body that is handsome and waxes lovelier at every phase;—as do the pleasing rays the spotless jewel, or the drops of honey the full-blown lotus. 24 I note further that they both possess in large measure the traits common to the princes of the [royal] race of Raghu: A form dark-blue like the throat of some lusty pigeon, the shoulders broad like those of a young bull, the pose (āśaya) [very] elegant; a look dauntless like that of a reposing lion, and a voice deep-and-full like a festive drum! 25 Observing [more] closely. Ah! It is not merely with mine that their form bears resemblance, but— There are also those traits proper to the daughter of Janaka [Sītā]—all to be clearly made out here in these two boys: It is as if once again has come within the range of my sight that face of my beloved wife in all the glory of a fresh and full-blown lotus! 26 Lovely with the lustre of teeth clear as pearls, here are their lips of the very same stamp, and also the same curve of the ear. The eyes, to be sure, are not blue;² but they have the same note of comeliness. 27 Thoughtfully. And this is that same forest, inhabited by the son of Varuṇa [Vālmīki], where, I was told, the Queen was abandoned. And ¹ So as to reveal to Rāma their princely ² 'Not blue', but red, as a man's eyes should breeding. be, according to Sāmudrika-śāstra. 12 [H.O.S. 21]

vi. 27²—] Bhavabhūti — Uttara-Rāma-Charita [90 such here are the looks and the age and the prowess of these two [boys]. Now as to the missiles being self-revealed to them, let me see: Can it really be that the permission which, in the course of our viewing those pictures, I gave unto the missiles has had its effect? For, even in the case of the ancients, we never have heard of any missiles obtained without a [formal] handing over. There is also this my heart’s extreme joy-and-sorrow that affords to my wavering mind [further] assurance. Often had I perceived that it was twins that the Queen would bring forth. With tears: In those days gone by, when our love, once formed, had grown with the growth of familiarity, I was the first, with the practised feel of my hand, to discover, in the confidence of privacy—her eyes lowered nevertheless in her inborn bashfulness—that it was twins that were in store for her. It was some days later that she discovered it. 28 Weeps. Shall I then, in some way or other, ask them [directly]? Lava—What can this mean, Father? Unto this face that is as a blessing to the world, with this shower of tears, you are lending the beauty of a white lotus glistening [lit. besprinkled] with dew-drops. 29 Kuśa—But don’t you see, my dear boy?— Without his Queen, Sītā, to the Lord of the Raghus what thing is there that may not be painful? For, with the loss of one’s beloved, the whole world, it is said, becomes a wilderness! On the one hand, that [extreme] degree of love, and here, on the other, is this separation that is endless! Why askest thou thus then, as if thou hadst never studied the Rāmāyaṇa? 30 Rāma, to himself—Oh, they talk as if the matter did not concern them: no need therefore of asking any [direct] question. Thou wretched heart! What means this thy sudden transport of emotion? Not being able to contain within me the anguish of my heart, I am commiserated even by these boys! Well, I will change the topic. Aloud. There is current, my dear boys, a report about what they call ‘Rāmāyaṇa’, a panegyric of the Solar race, the outpouring of the exalted Vālmīki’s learning-and- eloquence (Sarasvatī). I wish, therefore, out of curiosity, to hear some part of it. Kuśa—That entire story is [quite] familiar to us. Here, to begin with (tāvat), are these two stanzas,¹ coming in a chapter at the end of the ‘Bālacharita’, that rise into my memory. ¹ The Calcutta recension of the Rāmāyaṇa the other recensions the readings differ. gives these very stanzas near the end of See Notes. the Bāla-kāṇḍa (Gorresio, i. 78¹³–¹⁵); in

91] Act VI, Princes Recognized — Translation [—vi. 36³ Rāma—Repeat [them], my dear boy. Kuśa—“It was her nature that made Sītā dear unto Rāma’s mighty heart; but she endeared herself all the more unto him by reason of her [good] qualities. 31 So also was Rāma unto Sītā dearer than her very life: only their heart knows the extent of each other’s affection.” 32 Rāma—Alas! Exceedingly cruel is this blow upon the very vitals of my heart! Ha, Queen! So indeed it then was! Oh, how tormenting are these affairs of the world—fraught¹ with capricious reverses [of fortune], extremely painful, and all terminating in void phantoms! Where now is that joy which, springing from an absolute [mutual] confidence, knew no bounds? Where that mutual assiduousness [for each other’s comfort], and where those fathomless charms of novelty? In pleasure or in pain where indeed [can I now find] that unison of hearts?—and yet this my cursed heart (prāṇa) does continue to beat and will not cease! 33 Woe and alas!— That period wherein were revealed to me, as in one flash, those [hundreds and] thousands of my dear [Sītā’s] charms—of that period beset with painful memories, the memory recurs to me now. 34 For then, little by little, each succeeding day leaving its mark upon them, the breasts of my fawn-eyed [Sītā] kept expanding slowly like a bud; and then also it was that, strengthened by the concord of our age and our love and our longings, the God of Love had his opportunity (sphurati) to rage freely in our hearts, but demurely in the outward-expression (vapushi). 35 Lava—Here is another stanza² addressed by the Lord of the Raghus unto the Queen Sītā in the course of their pleasure-trip in the outskirts [vana] of the Chitrakūṭa [mountain] close by the [river] Mandākinī.— “As if set purposely for thee, here in front is this slab of stone; all around it this kesara tree has rained as it were a rain of flowers!” 36 Rāma, with a bashful smile and a mixture of love and pathos—Children are indeed artlessly-simple, especially if they be forest-bred. Alas, Queen! Dost thou remember what transports of unreserved endearments we did then have? Alas, alas! ¹ Or, devoid of all real relations, positive or ² See Rāmāyaṇa, Bombay recension, the extra negative. canto after ii. 95, stanzas 5–6.

vi. 37ᵃ—] Bhavabhūti — Uttara-Rāma-Charita [92 [Thy face] bedewed with the cooling drops of sweat and radiant with thy moonlike forehead upon which thronged thy tresses as they blew to the breezes wafted gently from over the Mandākinī [river]—with thy cheeks glistening and [thy forehead] no longer marked with the [wonted] kuṅkuma-spot¹—thy face gentle with the mild curve of thy unadorned ears: it is as if I were seeing it now vividly (utprekshyate) before me! 37 Remains stock-still [in meditation], with pathos. Alas, alas indeed! After a long, long meditation, when one creates [in fancy] and puts before him the image of his love, it is by no means the case that such [an image], although [the actual object be] far off, does not fill one with reassurance; but with the dissolution of that [product of] imagination, the whole world becomes [once more] a void wilderness, and thereafter, as if upon a heap of blazing husks, the heart seems to be broiling! 38 [Voice,] behind the curtain— Alarmed at the report of the boys' affray, Vasiṣṭha and Vālmīki and the [widowed] Queens of Daśaratha, Janaka along with Arundhatī: from the far distant hermitage they are in sooth all coming hither, very slowly—their frames tottering with age, and themselves slow with fatigue, but hurrying with their mind. 39 Rāma—How, the exalted Arundhatī and Vasiṣṭha and the Queen-mothers and Janaka—are they all even here? Alas! How indeed can I meet them [now]? Observing, and with pathos. Ha! That father[-in-law] Janaka also should have come right hither—this is like the blow of a thunderbolt to me, ill-starred that I am! After having seen that union of father [Daśaratha] with [my] father[-in-law Janaka] on that festive occasion of the marriage of their children—[a marriage] approved by Vasiṣṭha and others, all overjoyed at the desirableness of the connexion—after that, why am I not torn to a thousand shreds as I, following upon such a terrible disaster [to my wife], behold, in this his present plight, Janaka, this friend of my father? 40 [Voice,] behind the curtain—Woe and alas!— Upon seeing suddenly, in his present plight, the Lord of the Raghus [Rāma], shorn of all his glory save his innate-majesty, these sorrow-stricken Queen-mothers—after reviving Janaka who ¹ Saffron (kuṅkuma) forms the indispensable Respecting the incident as given in the adornment of every married woman. In Rāmāyaṇa, see the Notes. this case it was temporarily rubbed off.

93] Act VI, Princes Recognized — Translation [—vi. 42³ was the first to fall into a swoon—are themselves going into a swoon! 41 Rāma—Alas, father! Alas, mothers! Seeing that for her who was, of Janaka's and of Raghu's family, the all-in-all of auspiciousness, I showed no compassion,—vain is your [present] compassion for me! 42 I will go forthwith to attend upon them. Rises. Kuśa and Lava—This way, this way, father! All move about in pathetic flurry and exeunt. END OF ACT VI CALLED PRINCES RECOGNIZED.

ACT VII Then enters Lakshmaṇa. Lakshmaṇa—Ho, my worthy Sirs! To-day the exalted Vālmīki, as ye know (khalu), has summoned, along with ourselves, [our] subjects from towns and districts, with all Brahmans and Kshatriyas; and he has also, by his own [spiritual] power, secured the presence of hosts of Gods and Demons, [Apes and other] animals, the Serpent-lords with their retinue: in fact, the whole assemblage of Beings movable and immovable. And I am directed by the noble [King, Rāma] as follows—"Dear Lakshmaṇa, the exalted Vālmīki has invited us to witness his own play that is to be enacted by heavenly nymphs. Go, therefore, to the banks of the Ganges, which is to be the place for the concert, and seat the audience properly."— I have accordingly assigned proper seats to all the assemblage of Beings mortal and immortal. And here, now,— Is the noble [King, Rāma] who, even while carrying on the life- and-functions (āśrama) of royalty, has to follow the rigorous course of a hermit’s life: he is coming hither out of deference to [sage] Vālmīki. 1 Then enters Rāma. Rāma—Dear Lakshmaṇa, have the distinguished spectators (prāśnika) taken their seats? Lakshmaṇa—They have. Rāma—And those two boys—Kuśa and Lava—let them have accorded to them a position similar to [that of] Prince Chandraketu. Lakshmaṇa—Considering Your Lordship’s affection for them, that is just what I have done. Here is spread out the Royal seat. Both sit down. Rāma—Sirs, let the play begin. Stage-manager, entering—The exalted son of Varuṇa, [Vālmīki,] truthful in his utterances, thus commands the world movable and immovable— “Here is what dawned upon us in our spiritual insight—a certain composi- tion of ours pure-and-edifying and full of the Pathetic and the Marvellous sentiments. Do you, therefore, because of the importance of the issue [connected with it,] pay attention to the same.”

95] Act VII, Reunion — Translation [—vii. 3⁶ Rāma—The meaning is, that sages possess a direct intuition of what is right (dharma). The knowledge of [such] exalted personages is uncoloured by passions, is a Repository of Truth,¹ is never known to fail. It must therefore be beyond [every possibility of] doubt. [Voice,] behind the curtain—Alas, my noble Lord! Alas, dear Lakshmaṇa! Alone and undefended as I am, and with these pangs of childbirth upon me, in this [dreary] forest, the beasts of prey, desperate [with hunger], are longing to devour me! Therefore now, ill-starred that I am, I will throw myself into the Mandākinī [Ganges]. Lakshmaṇa, to himself—Woe and alas! This is something quite un- expected! Stage-manager—The daughter of the All-sustaining [Earth], Queen Sītā, being abandoned by the King in the great forest: she, with travail coming upon her, is throwing herself into the divine Ganges. 2 Exit. Rāma, excitedly—Queen, my Queen! Just tarry [but] one instant! Lakshmaṇa—My noble brother, this is a play! Rāma—Alas, Queen! Thou dear companion in the wilderness of Daṇḍakā! This then has been the evil ripening of thy fate—and through Rāma! Lakshmaṇa—Noble brother, let us, if you please, see how the play turns out. Rāma—Here am I, ready and with a heart of adamant! Then enters Sītā swooning and supported by Pṛithivī [the Earth] and Jāhnavī [the Ganges], who have each an infant in their lap. Rāma—Brother, lend me thy support: I seem to be plunging into some unknown and untrodden [abyss of] gloom! The two Goddesses [Pṛithivī and Bhāgīrathī]— Take heart, [Sītā,] thou blessed daughter of [Janaka,] King of the Videhas: Fortune is smiling upon thee. While in the waters thou hast given birth to two sons that shall be the upholders of Raghu's line. 3 Sītā, recovering—Oh, joy! I have given birth to [two] sons!—Ha, my noble Lord! Swoons [again]. Lakshmaṇa, falling [at Rāma's feet]—I say, my noble brother, Fortune is smiling upon us! The stock of Raghu has put forth glorious offshoots. Observing. Oh, how now? Overwhelmed by the flood of stirring tears, my noble brother has swooned quite away! Fans [him]. The two Goddesses—Cheer up, dear daughter, cheer up! Sītā, recovering—Who may your Ladyship be—and you? ¹ A technical term of Yoga, for which see Notes.

vii. 3⁷—] Bhavabhūti — Uttara-Rāma-Charita [96 Pṛithivī—This is the Guardian-divinity of your father-in-law's house— [the river] Bhāgīrathī. Sītā—My homage unto thee, Exalted one! Bhāgīrathī—Mayest thou attain all those blessings that thy [noble] character [richly] merits! Lakshmaṇa—We are [by this expression of goodwill mightily] favoured. Bhāgīrathī—This is the Exalted [Goddess], the All-sustaining [Earth]: thy mother. Sītā—Alas, mother! That thou shouldst see me—and in such a plight! Pṛithivī—Come, darling—Come [unto me], my daughter! Embraces [Sītā] and faints. Lakshmaṇa, in joy—So [happily] the noble Queen has been by Pṛithivī and Bhāgīrathī taken under their protection. Rāma, observing—It is indeed good—but it harrows me so! Bhāgīrathī—Is even the all-sustaining Goddess [Earth] thus affected? Then all-triumphant indeed is a mother's affection! Or rather [why do I say so?]—Nobody that has any feelings at all can escape this [affection, this] unending thread of the world-and-its-concerns (saṁsāra), this mysterious knot of infatuation. My child, thou daughter of the King of the Videhas! And thou Goddess [Earth] that art [thyself] the stay unto all creatures! Take heart [both of you]; be comforted. Pṛithivī, recovering—Goddess [Bhāgīrathī]! Being mother to Sītā, how can I take heart? First there was her long abode among the Rākshasas [with Rāvaṇa], and, as a second [calamity], this her abandonment, most dreadful [even] to hear: Bhāgīrathī—But what being indeed is there—when Fate is intent upon evolving its fruit—that can close the gates against it [Fate]? 4 Pṛithivī—Bhāgīrathī, is this becoming—is this at all like dear Rāma? No regard whatever has he shown to this [my Sītā's] hand, clasped in her tender years by him in tender years—nor any [regard] for me, nor for Janaka, nor for the Fire[-ordeal], nor for [Sītā's] companionship [in the Daṇḍakā-forest], nor [finally] for the continuance of [his own race]! 5 Sītā—Alas, my noble Lord! Of thee I am put in mind— Pṛithivī—Forsooth! who now is thy noble Lord? Sītā, abashed, with tears—So [be it then] as my mother says. Rāma—Mother Pṛithivī, here am I, such [I confess, as thou sayest].

97] Act VII, Reunion — Translation [—vii. 8cd] Bhāgīrathī—Exalted [Earth], thou Giver of all blessings! Thou art of this living world its very body [and soul]. Wherefore then, as if not cognizant [of facts], art thou wroth at [Rāma,] thy son-in-law? A dread infamy was gaining ground among the people; and as to that clearing [of Sītā] by the [ordeal of] fire, it took place in the [distant] Island of Laṅkā [Ceylon]: how possibly could the people of this place give credence to it? And it has always been the precious heritage (dhana) of Ikshvāku's race to keep the entire people content. In this trying extremity, therefore, what [else] could my dear [Rāma] have done? 6 Lakshmaṇa—Divinities indeed possess an unerring intuitive vision in regard to [the thoughts and motives of] all beings. Bhāgīrathī—Nevertheless, here am I folding my hands in supplication [and craving thy grace and pardon for Rāma]. Rāma—Holy mother [Bhāgīrathī], continual has been thy favour towards [us] the descendants of Bhagīratha. Pṛithivī—I am always favourably disposed towards you; but it was the vehemence of my affection, [terrific] sudden and hard to withstand, [that prompted those words of mine]. I am indeed not unaware of dear Rāma's love to Sītā: Constrained through Fate to abandon dear [Sītā], he [Rāma], with that [keen torment] consuming his mind, has been kept alive only by his own supernatural firmness (sattva), and by the [pre-eminent] merits of his subjects. 7 Rāma—Indeed they have been full of tenderness for [me] their child— these my gurus [Pṛithivī and Bhāgīrathī]. Sītā, weeping, with folded hands—Let my mother [Earth] receive me in her bosom for eternal rest. Rāma—What else could she ask? Bhāgīrathī—God forbid! Mayest thou for thousands of years continue in [the bloom of] thy life! Pṛithivī—Child, these thy dear sons need to be looked after. Sītā—What have I to do with these, now that I am without my Lord? Rāma—Thou art of adamant, my heart! Bhāgīrathī—How—thy Lord¹ still alive—canst thou be without a Lord? Sītā—Luckless as I am, what does my Lord's being alive signify for me? The two Goddesses—Being, as thou art, the source of all blessings to the world, wherefore dost thou thus misprize thyself? Even we ourselves, in thy company, feel an augmentation of our purity. 8 ¹ The word for 'lord' or husband means also protector. 13 [H.O.S. 21]

vii. 8¹—] Bhavabhūti — Uttara-Rāma-Charita [98 Lakshmaṇa—Did you hear that, my noble brother? Rāma—The people—let them hear. A tumult behind the curtain. Rāma—Something yet more marvellous [is coming]! Sītā—Why is it that the whole firmament seems ablaze? The two Goddesses—We know: Those very missiles of which Kṛiśāśva, [Viśvāmitra] the son of Kuśika, and Rāma were in turn the masters,—those missiles that produce stupor—are appearing! 9 [Voice,] behind the curtain—All hail, Queen Sītā! It is before thy sons that we have to present ourselves; as was said—in the course of seeing those pictures—by the noble descendant of Raghu [Rāma]. 10 Sītā—So, happily, these are the Deities of the missiles: Ha, my noble Lord, thy favours continue unabated even now! Lakshmaṇa—My noble brother had then said [unto Sītā], 'Assuredly now these will attend upon thy offspring.'¹ The two Goddesses—Our homage unto you, ye mighty missiles! Blessed are we in this your favour: Be pleased to reveal yourselves whenever they [the boys] shall meditate upon you; and may these our dear sons prosper under your favour! 11 Rāma—These surging billows of grief—broken by the mingling [floods] of joy and wonder—they have really thrown me now into an inexplicable state of mind! 12 The two Goddesses—Rejoice, child! For now have thy sons become the equals of our dear Rāma. Sītā—But who, exalted [Goddess], will now do for them the rites befitting a Kshatriya? Rāma—This one now, the maintainer of that line of the Raghus which claims to be under Vasishṭha's protection; alas, even she—Sītā— is at a loss to find some one who shall give unto her sons the sacraments and befitting education! 13 Bhāgīrathī—My child, why this anxiety? For, as soon as they are weaned, I shall deliver them into the exalted Vālmīki's hands. He will do all that needs to be done for them as Kshatriyas: As are the sages Vasishṭha and Āṅgirasa, even so is the [saintly] son of Varuṇa, [Vālmīki,] the guru of both the families, that of Janaka and that of Raghu. 14 Rāma—A happy thought this of the exalted [Bhāgīrathī]. Lakshmaṇa—Noble brother, to tell the truth, I am really led to surmise, ¹ See p. 19, above.

99] Act VII, Reunion — Translation [—vii. 17cd by these indications, that these [two infants] [represent] our Kuśa and Lava: For they also [the real Kuśa and Lava] have the missiles manifest to them from their birth, and they have both received the sacra- ments at the hands of the saintly son of Varuṇa [Vālmīki]; they are heroes, and in age are [just] twelve years. 15 Rāma—Dear [Lakṣmaṇa], it is even for this very reason that my heart is adrift and I am lost in bewilderment. Pṛithivī—Come, daughter, sanctify [with thy presence] my abode in Rasātala.¹ Sītā—[Rather] let my mother [Earth] receive me in her bosom [for eternal rest]: I can no longer endure the vicissitudes of this world of mortals. Rāma—What will the answer be now? Pṛithivī—Child, follow my behest and look to the needs of thy sons until they are weaned. But after that—as shall seem good. Bhāgīrathī—That is right. Exeunt Ganges, Earth, and Sītā. Rāma—How? Has the daughter of the King of the Videhas really found the rest eternal? Alas, Queen! Thou dear companion of my residence in the Daṇḍakā, thou divine embodiment of Virtue! Art thou then departed for the other world? Faints. Lakṣmaṇa—Help, help, Exalted Vālmīki! Is this your Poem's end-and- aim? ² [Voice,] behind the curtain—Let the concert[-instruments] be removed. Hark ye, all living beings—ye mortals movable and immovable! Behold the holy miracle that Vālmīki permits to happen. Lakṣmaṇa, observing—As if by some churning, the waters of the Ganges are in agitation; the skies are thronged with Gods and sages: and, oh wonder!—the noble [Sītā], along with the Goddesses Pṛithivī and Bhāgīrathī, is rising from the waters. 16 [Voice,] behind the curtain—O Arundhatī, world-honoured! Deign to accept the greetings of us [two], Pṛithivī and Bhāgīrathī: into thy charge we here deliver this Sītā, her of holy life, our daughter. 17

¹ Rasātala = Nether world. A distinction is apparently intended between 'staying with Pṛithivī in her abode' and 'being received into her bosom to rise up no more'. See Notes, however. ² Lakṣmaṇa means, 'Was this your motive, Vālmīki, in inviting us to the play, namely, just to see Rāma faint?' There is perhaps also the suggestion, on the part of Bhavabhūti, that the tragic ending of the Rāmāyaṇa, as we have it, is not fitting for such a poem, and that it should end happily, as does the present play. See also Introduction, § 21, and note. 13* [H.O.S. 21]

vii. 17¹—] Bhavabhūti — Uttara-Rāma-Charita [100 Lakshmaṇa—Oh, joy and wonder! Behold, behold, my noble brother! Observing. Woe and alas! He has not even yet recovered his breath! Then enter Arundhatī and Sītā. Arundhatī—Haste, child, thou daughter of Videha's king! Away with this thy bashfulness! Come and revive my dear [Rāma] with thy hand, the touch of which is [so] dear [to him]. 18 Sītā, in flurry, touching Rāma—Let my noble Lord revive, and compose himself. Rāma, reviving, in joy—Oh, what can this be? Observing, with joyful astonishment. Is it possible? my Queen! In confusion. Oh, and mother Arundhatī—and Ṛishyaśṛiṅga and Śāntā and all our other gurus, all beaming with joy! Arundhatī—Dear [Rāma], here is the exalted Ganges, the Presiding- divinity of the house of Bhagīratha;¹ she is gracious [towards thee]. [Voice,] behind the curtain—Dear Rāma, Lord of the world, call to mind what thou saidst to me² when looking at the pictures: [Thou didst then say—] ‘Be thou, therefore, O [divine] mother, towards this thy daughter- in-law, Sītā, ever cherishing kindly thoughts—even like unto Arundhatī [herself].’ I have acquitted myself of my duty therein. Arundhatī—And here is thy mother-in-law, the exalted giver of all blessings [the Earth]. [Voice,] behind the curtain—The long-lived one [Rāma] had said³ formerly, when abandoning Sītā—‘O holy [Earth, thou] Giver of all blessings! This thy virtuous daughter do thou regard with kindness—this daughter of Janaka!’ So now I have, O Lord [of men], carried out thy words with regard to my daughter [Sītā]. Rāma—How! Guilty of grievous offence though Rāma has been, have the exalted [Goddesses really] shown him their favour [and sympathy]? Salutes [them]. Arundhatī—Ye people from the city and from the country! Considering that Pṛithivī and Bhāgīrathī have now [in your presence] commended her and entrusted her to me, Arundhatī, and that formerly the holy Fire had attested to her spotless character and Brahmā and all other Gods applauded her—will you now accept [as your Queen] her, who is the dutiful daughter- in-law of the Solar race and who is sprung from the [very] sacrificial ground of the Gods? What do you, my worthy Sirs, think in regard to this? ¹ For Bhagīratha, see note 6, p. 21. ³ See above, p. 29, near end. ² See above, p. 22, near the top.

101] Act VII, Reunion — Translation [—vii. 19¹⁷ Lakshmaṇa—Thus reproved by the noble Arundhatī, these our subjects, as also these assembled Beings, one and all, are saluting the noble [Queen], while the Guardians of the world and the seven sages are honouring her with a shower of blossoms. Arundhatī—Lord of the world! My dear Rāma!— This thy dear [and dutiful Sītā]: employ her now—as the rites demand—to participate in the religious offices connected with the sacrifice—her who is the holy [and living] original of that image of gold. 19 Sītā, to herself—My noble Lord knows how to wipe off Sītā's sorrows. Rāma—As the exalted [Arundhatī] commands. Lakshmaṇa—Now have I gained the one wish of my heart! Sītā—This is life to me! Lakshmaṇa—Noble Queen, here salutes thee that shameless Lakshmaṇa. Sītā—Just as thou art, dear [brother], long mayest thou live! Arundhatī—Exalted Vālmīki, bring forward now, unto [our] dear Rāma, those two sons of Sītā, Kuśa and Lava. Exit.¹ Rāma and Lakshmaṇa—Oh, joy! It is as we thought. Sītā, with tears, and agitated—Where, where are my darlings? Then enters Vālmīki [leading] Kuśa and Lava. Vālmīki—Kuśa, Lava, my boys! This is the Lord of the Raghus—your father; this is Lakshmaṇa, your worthy uncle; this is Queen Sītā who gave you birth: this is the Royal sage Janaka, your mother's father. Sītā, observing, with joy and sorrow and amazement—How! My father [Janaka—and here]! Kuśa and Lava—Oh, father! Oh, mother! Oh, grandfather! Rāma, embracing [them] joyfully—Why, my dear boys! It must be through our [special] merit that you have been restored unto us! ¹ There is no apparent reason for this exit The account Lava gives, in Act iv, unless it was the special object of the of Vālmīki's preparation for the play poet to leave Vālmīki, as the one highest within the play in Act vii sounds personage then on the stage, to pronounce almost as a leaf from our poet's auto- the concluding benediction. In a sense, biography. We further know that in it is proper that Vālmīki should pro- later times (cp. Rājaśekhara's Bāla- nounce the benediction, but it is a bit Rāmāyaṇa, Prologue, stanza 16) Bhava- odd, particularly as the last stanza con- bhūti was regarded as an avatar of tains a flattering allusion to Vālmīki's Vālmīki. May we, therefore, conclude own poem. that Bhavabhūti himself played the part Now we know that Bhavabhūti was of Vālmīki, and came in, just at the end, on most intimate terms (cp. Prologue to make his courtesy to the audience and to Mālatī-Mādhava) with the actors. receive their plaudits?

vii. 19¹⁸—] Bhavabhūti — Uttara-Rāma-Charita [102 Sītā—Come, dear Kuśa! Come, dear Lava! Give a long, long embrace to this your mother, who has [as it were] been born again. Kuśa and Lava, having done so—We are blessed [to-day]! Sītā—Exalted Sir, my obeisance! Vālmīki—My dear child! Thus, oh thus [united to thy Lord and thy sons] mayest thou long continue! Sītā—Oh, joy! Here now is my father, [our] family preceptors [Vasishṭha and Vālmīki], these honoured ladies [my mothers-in-law and the exalted Arundhatī], queen Śāntā with her husband [Ṛishyaśṛiṅga], as also these feet of my noble and gracious Lord, together with Lakshmaṇa and Kuśa and Lava: As I see all these together I am transported with joy! Tumult behind the curtain. Vālmīki, rising and observing—Having extirpated the demon Lavaṇa, this is [Śatrughna] the Lord of Mathurā approaching.¹ Lakshmaṇa—Blessings bring blessings in their train. Rāma—Although experiencing all this, I cannot yet believe it: this, however, is in the nature of all wished-for blessings! ² Vālmīki—Say, my dear Rāma, what further good can I render thee? Rāma—Beyond all this, can there be any further good? Let there be this, however— This story which—even like the Mother of all creation [Earth] or like the [river] Ganges—cleanses from [all] sins and augments [every] blessing; [this story] which is full of auspiciousness and which captivates the heart: may the wise hold in esteem this [same] story which is here put together in a dramatic form, and which is the composition (vāṇī) of a Poet ³ of matured genius and conversant with Brahma-in-the-form-of-the-Word! 20 Exeunt all. END OF ACT VII CALLED REUNION. END OF THE PLAY. ¹ Cp. Notes to i. 50. ³ Vālmīki; but there is also a secondary ² . Mālatī-Mādhava, vi. 9¹⁵. reference to Bhavabhūti himself.

HARVARD ORIENTAL SERIES Harvard Oriental Series. Edited, with the coöperation of various scholars, by CHARLES ROCKWELL LANMAN, A.B. and LL.D. (Yale), LL.D. (Aberdeen), Wales Professor of Sanskrit at Harvard University; Honorary Member of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, the Société Asiatique, the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Deutsche Morgenländische Gesellschaft; Member of the American Philosophical Society; Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; Foreign Member of the Royal Bohemian Society of Sciences; Honorary Correspondent of the Archæological Department of the Government of India; Corresponding Member of the Institute of Bologna, of the Royal Society of Sciences at Göttingen, of the Imperial Russian Academy of Sciences, and of the Institute of France (Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres). Published by the Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A. To be bought, in America, of GINN & COMPANY, 29 Beacon Street, Boston, Mass.; in England, of GINN & Co., 9 St. Martin's Street, Leicester Square, London, W.C.; in Continental Europe, of O. Harrassowitz, Leipzig.—The price of volume 3 is $1.20. Price of volumes 7 and 8 (not sold separately) is $5. Price of volume 10 is $6. The price of each of the other volumes is $1.50. Volumes 18 and 19 are not sold separately.—One dollar ($1.00)=Marks 4.18=francs or lire 5.15=4 shillings and 2 pence=3 rupees.—Volume 10 is royal 4° (32 cm.); volumes 7 and 8 are super- royal 8° (28 cm.); the rest are royal 8° (26 cm.). All are now bound durably in full buckram with gilt top. Volume 1. Jātaka-Mālā, Stories of Buddha's former incarnations, by Ārya Çūra. Edited in Sanskrit (Nāgarī letters) by Professor H. KERN, University of Leiden, Netherlands. 1891. Second issue, 1914. Pages, 270. (Translation by Speyer, London, 1895, Frowde.) Volume 2. Sāṅkhya-Pravachana-Bhāshya, or Commentary on the exposition of the Sāṅkhya philosophy, by Vijñāna-Bhikshu. Edited in Sanskrit (Roman letters) by Professor R. GARBE, University of Tübingen, Germany. 1895. Pages, 210. (Translated by Garbe, Leipzig, 1889, Brockhaus.) Volume 3. Buddhism in Translations. Passages selected from the Buddhist sacred books and translated from the original Pāli into English by HENRY CLARKE WARREN, late of Cambridge, Massachusetts. 1896. Sixth issue, 1915. Pages, 540. (Over 100 extracts from the sacred books of Buddhism, so arranged as to give a connected account of the legendary life of Buddha, of his monastic order, of his doctrines on karma and rebirth, and of his scheme of salvation. The work has been widely circulated and has been highly praised by competent authorities.) Volume 4. Karpūra-Mañjarī. A drama by the Indian poet Rājaçekhara (900 A.D.). Critically edited in the original Prākrit (Nāgarī letters), with a glossarial index and an essay on the life and writings of the poet, by STEN KONOW, of the University of Christiania, Norway; and translated into English with notes by C. R. LANMAN. 1901. Pages, 318.

HARVARD ORIENTAL SERIES Volumes 5 and 6. Brihad-Devatā (attributed to Çāunaka), a summary of the deities and myths of the Rig-Veda. Critically edited in the original Sanskrit (Nāgarī letters), with an introduction and seven appendices (volume 5), and translated into English with critical and illustrative notes (volume 6), by Professor A. A. MACDONELL, University of Oxford. 1904. Pages, 234 + 350 = 584. Volumes 7 and 8. Atharva-Veda. Translated, with a critical and exegetical com- mentary, by the late Professor W. D. WHITNEY, of Yale University; revised and brought nearer to completion and edited by C. R. LANMAN. 1905. Pages, 1212. (The work includes critical notes on the text, with various readings of European and Hindu mss.; readings of the Kashmirian version; notices of corresponding passages in the other Vedas, with report of variants; data of the scholiasts as to authorship and divinity and meter of each verse; extracts from the ancillary literature concerning ritual and exegesis; literal translation; elaborate critical and historical introduction.) Volume 9. The Little Clay Cart (Mṛcchakaṭika), a Hindu drama attributed to King Shūdraka. Translated from the original Sanskrit and Prākrits into English prose and verse by A. W. RYDER, Instructor in Sanskrit in Harvard University. 1905. Pages, 207. Volume 10. Vedic Concordance: being an alphabetic index to every line of every stanza of the published Vedic literature and to the liturgical formulas thereof, that is, an index (in Roman letters) to the Vedic mantras, together with an account of their variations in the different Vedic books. By Professor MAURICE BLOOMFIELD, of the Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore. 1906. Pages, 1102. Volume 11. The Pañchatantra: a collection of ancient Hindu tales, in the recension (called Pañchākhyānaka, and dated 1199 A. D.) of the Jaina monk, Pūrṇabhadra, critically edited in the original Sanskrit (in Nāgarī letters; and, for the sake of beginners, with word-division) by Dr. JOHANNES HERTEL, Professor am königlichen Realgymnasium, Doebeln, Saxony. 1908. Pages, 344. Volume 12. The Pañchatantra-text of Pūrṇabhadra: critical introduction and list of variants. By Professor HERTEL. 1912. Pages, 245. (Includes an index of stanzas.) Volume 13. The Pañchatantra-text of Pūrṇabhadra, and its relation to texts of allied recensions as shown in Parallel Specimens. By Professor HERTEL. 1912. (Nineteen sheets, mounted on guards and issued in atlas-form. They give, in parallel columns, four typical specimens of the text of Pūrṇabhadra's Pañchatantra, in order to show the genetic relations in which the Sanskrit recensions of the Pañchatantra stand to one another, and the value of the manuscripts of the single recensions.) Volume 14. The Pañchatantra: a collection of ancient Hindu tales, in its oldest recension, the Kashmirian, entitled Tantrākhyāyika. Sanskrit text, reprinted from the critical editio major by Professor HERTEL. Editio minor. 1915. Pages, 160. Volume 15. Bhāravi's poem Kirātārjunīya or Arjuna's combat with the Kirāta. Translated from the original Sanskrit into German and explained by CARL CAPPELLER, Professor at the University of Jena. 1912. Pages, 231. (Introduction, notes, and various other useful additions.) Volume 16. The Çakuntalā, a Hindu drama by Kālidāsa: the Bengālī recension critically edited in the original Sanskrit and Prākrits by RICHARD PISCHEL, late Professor of Sanskrit at the University of Berlin. (Nearly ready.)

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