He gathered next a chosen band
For service in the southern land.
He summoned Níla son of Fire,
And, offspring of the eternal Sire,
Jámbaván bold and strong and tall.
And Hanumán, the best of all,
And many a valiant lord beside, [1]
With Angad for their chief and guide.
‘Go forth,’ he cried, 'with all this host
Exploring to the southern coast:
The thousand peaks that Vindhya shows
Where every tree and creeper grows:
Where Narmadá’s [2] sweet waters run,
And serpents bask them in the sun:
Where Krishnavení, [3] currents flee,
And sparkles fair Godávaií. [4]
Through Mekhal, [5] pass and Utkal’s, [6] land:
Go where Das’árna’s, [7] cities stand.
Avantí, [8] seek, of high renown,
And Abravanti’s, [9] glorious town.
Search every hill and brook and cave
Where Dandak’s woods their branches wave
Avomukh’s, [10] woody hill explore
Whose sides are bright with richest ore,.
lifting his glorious head on high
From bloomy groves that round him lie.
[ p. 375 ]
Search well his forests where the breeze
Blows fragrant from the sandal trees.
Then will you see Káverí’s [11] stream
Whose pleasant waters glance and gleam,
And to the lovely banks entice
The sportive maids of Paradise.
High on the top of Malaya’s [12] hill,
In holy musing, calm and still,
Sits, radiant as the Lord of Light,
Agastya, [13] noblest anchorite.
Soon as that lofty-thoughted lord
His high permission shall accord,
Pass Támraparní’s [14] flood whose isles
Are loved by basking crocodiles.
The sandal woods that fringe her side
Those islets and her waters hide;
While, like an amorous matron, she
Speeds to her own dear lord the sea.
Thence hasting on your way behold
The Pándyas’ [15] gates of pearl and gold.
Then, with your task maturely planned,
On ocean’s shore your feet will stand.
Where, by Agastya’s high decree,
Mahendra, [16] planted in the sea,
With tinted peaks against the tide
Rises in solitary pride,
And glorious in his golden glow
Spurns back the waves that beat below.
Fair mountain, bright with creepers’ bloom
And every tint that trees assume,
Where Yaksha, God, and heavenly maid
Meet wandering in the lovely shade,
At changing moon and solemn tide
By Indra’s presence glorified.
One hundred leagues in fair extent
An island [17] fronts the continent:
No man may tread its glitering shore
With utmost heed that isle explore,
For the fair country owns the sway
Of Rávan whom we burn to day.
A mighty monster stands to keep
The passage of the southern deep,
Lifting her awful arms on high
She grasps e’en shadows as they fly.
Speed through that isle, and onward still
Where in mid sea the Flowery Hill [18]
Haises on high his bloomy head
By saints and angels visited.
There, with a hundred gleaming peaks
Bright as the sun, the sky he seeks,
One glorious peak the Lord of Day
Gilds ever with his loving ray;
Thereon ne’er yet the glances fell
Of thankless wretch or infidel.
Bow to that hill in reverence due,
And then once more your search pursue.
Beyond that glorious mountain hie,
And Súryaván, [19] proud hill is nigh.
Your rapid course yet farther bend
Where Vaidyut’s [20] airy peaks ascend.
There trees of noblest sort, profuse
Of wealth, their kindly gifts produce.
Their precious fruits, O Vánars, taste,
The honey sip, and onward haste.
Next will ye see Mount Kunjar rise,
Who cheers with beauty hearts and eyes.
There is Agastya’s [21] mansion, decked
Bv heaven’s all moulding architect.
Near Bhogavatí [22] stands, the place
Where dwell the hosts of serpent race:
A broad-wayed city, walled and barred,
Which watchful legions keep and guard,
The fiercest of the serpent youth,
Each awful for his venomed tooth:
And throned in his imperial hall
Is Vásuki [23] who rules them all.
Explore the serpent city well,
Search town and tower and citadel,
And scan each field and wood that lies
Around it, with your watchful eyes.
Beyond that spot your way pursue:
A noble mountain shall ye view,
Named Rishabh, like a mighty bull,
With gems made bright and beautiful.
[ p. 376 ]
All trees of sandal flourish there
Of heavenly fragrance, rich and rare.
But, though they tempt your longing eyes,
Avoid to touch them, and be wise.
For Rohitas, a guardian band
Of fierce Gandharvas, round them stand,
Who five bright sovereign lords 1 obey,
In glory like the God of Day.
Here by good deeds a home is won.
With shapes like fire, the moon, the sun.
Here they who merit heaven by worth
Dwell on the confines of the earth.
There stay; beyond it, dark and drear,
Lies the departed spirits’ sphere,
And, girt with darkness, far from bliss,
Is Yama’s sad metropolis. 2
So far, my lords, o’er land and sea
Vour destined course is plain and free.
Beyond your steps you may not set,
Where living thing ne’er journeyed yet.
With utmost care these realms survey,
And all you meet upon the way.
And, when the lady’s course is traced,
Back to your king, O Vánars, haste.
And he who tells me he has seen.
After long search, the Maithil queen,
Shall gain a noble guerdon: he
In power and bliss shall equal me.
Dear as my very life, above
His fellows in his master’s love;
I call him, yea though stained with crime.
My kinsman from that happy time.’
Then to Sushen Sugríva bent,
And thus addressed him reverent:
‘Two hundred thousand of our best
With thee, my lord, shall seek the west.
Explore Suráshtra’s [24] distant plain,
Explore Váhlíka’s [25] wild domain,
And all the pleasant brooks that flee
Through mountains to the western sea.
Search clustering groves on mountain
heights,
And woods the whom of anchorites.
Search where the breezy hills are high,
Search where the desert regions lie.
Search all the western land beset
With woody mountains like a net.
The country’s farthest limit reach,
And stand upon the ocean beach.
There wander through the groves of palm
Where the soft air is full of balm.
Through grassy dell and dark ravine
Seek Rávan and the Maithil queen.
Go visit Somagiri’s [26] steep
Where Sindhu [27] mingles with the deep.
There lions, borne on swift wings, roam
The levels of their mountain home,
And elephants and monsters bear,
Caught from the ocean, to their lair.
You Vánars, changing forms at will.
With rapid search must scour the hill,
And his sky-kissing peak of gold
Where loveliest trees their blooms unfold.
There golden-peaked, ablaze with light,
Uprises Páriyátra’s [28] height
Where wild Gandharvas, fierce and fell,
In bands of countless myriads dwell.
Pluck ye no fruit within the wood;
Beware the impious neighbourhood,
Where, very mighty, strong, and hard
To overcome, the fruit they guard.
Yet search for Janak’s daughter still,
For Vánars there need fear no ill.
Near, bright as turkis, Vajra [29] named,
There stands a hill of diamond framed.
Soaring a hundred leagues in pride,
With trees and creepers glorified.
Search there each cave and dark abyss
By waterfall and precipice.
Far in that sea the wild waves beat
On Chakraván’s [30] firm-rooted feet.
Where the great discus, [31] thousand rayed,
By Vísvakarmá’s [32] art was made.
When Panchajan [33] the fiend was slain.
And Hayagríva, [34] fierce in vain,
[ p. 377 ]
Thence taking shell and discus went
Lord Vishnu, God preeminent.
On sixty thousand hills of gold
With wondering eyes shall ye behold,
Where in his glory every one
Is brilliant as the morning sun.
Full in the midst King Meru, [35] best
Of mountains, lifts his lofty crest,
On whom of yore, as all have heard,
The sun well-pleased this boon conferred:
‘On thee, O King, on thee and thine
Light, day and night, shall ever shine.
Gandharvas, Gods who love thee well
And on thy sacred summits dwell,
Undimmed in lustre, bright and fair,The golden sheen shall ever share.’
The Vis’vas, [36] Vasus [37] they who ride
The tempest, [38] every God beside,
Draw nigh to Meru’s lofty crest
When evening darkens in the west,
And to the parting Lord of Day
The homage of their worship pay,
Ere yet a while, unseen of all,
Behind Mount Asta’s [39] peaks he fall.
Wrought by the heavenly artist’s care
A glorious palace glitters there,
And round about it sweet birds sing
Where the gay trees are blossoming:
The home of Varun 1b high souled-lord,
Wrist-girded with his deadly cord. 2b
With ten tall stems, a palm between
Meru and Asta’s hill is seen:
Pure silver from the base it springs,
And far and wide its lustre flings.
Seek Rávanthe dame by brook,
In pathless glen, in leafy nook
On Meru’s crest a hermit lives
Bright with the light that penance gives:
Sávarni 3b is he named, renowned
As Brahmá’s peer, with glory crowned.
There bowing down in reverence speak
And ask him of the dame you seek.
Thus far the splendid Lord of Day
Pursues through heaven his ceaseless way,
Shedding on every spot his light;
Then sinks behind Mount Asta’s height,
Thus far advance: the sunless sea
Beyond is all unknown to me.
Sushen of mighty arm, long tried
In peril, shall your legions guide,
Receive his words with high respect,
And ne’er his lightest wish neglect.
He is my consort’s sire, and hence
Deserves the utmost reverence.’
Forth went the legions of the west:
And wise Sugríva addressed
S’atabal, summoned from the crowd.
To whom the sovereign cried aloud:
‘Go forth, O Vánarf, go forth,
Explore the regions of the north.
Thy host a hundred thousand be,
And Yama’s sons [40] attend on thee.
With dauntless courage, strength, and skill
Search every river, wood, and hill.
Through every land in order go
Right onward to the Hills of Snow.
Search mid the peaks that shine afar,
In woods of Lodh and Deodár. [41]
Search if with Janak’s daughter, screened
By sheltering rocks, there lie the fiend
[ p. 378 ]
The holy grounds of Soma tread
By Gods and minstrels visited.
Reach Kála’s mount, and flats that lie
Among the peaks that tower on high.
Then leave that hill that gleams with ore,
And fair Sudars’an’s heights explore.
Then on to Devasakhát [42] hie.
Loved by the children of the sky.
A dreary land you then will see
Without a hill or brook or tree,
A hundred leagues, bare, wild, and dread
In lifeless desolation, spread.
Pursue your onward way, and haste
Through the dire horrors of the waste
Until triumphant with delight
You reach Kailása’stering height.
There stands a palace decked with gold,
For King Kuvera [43] wrought of old,
A home the heavenly artist planned
And fashioned with his cunning hand.
There lotuses adorn the flood
With full-blown flower and opening bud
Where swans and mallards float, and gay
Apsarases [44] come down to play.
There King Vaisravan’s [45] self, the lord
By all the universe adored,
Who golden gifts to mortals sends,
Lives with the Guhyakas [46] his friends.
Search every cavern in the steep,
And green glens where the moonbeams sleep.
If haply in that distant ground
The robber and the dame be found.
Then on to Krauncha’s hill, [47] and through
His fearful pass your way pursue:
Though dark and terrible the vale
Your wonted courage must not fail.
There through abyss and cavern seek,
On lofty ridge, and mountain peak.
On, on! pursue your journey still
By valley, lake, and towering hill.
Reach the North Kurus’ land, where rest
The holy spirits of the blest;
Where golden buds of lilies gleam
Resplendent on the silver stream,
And leaves of azure turkis throw
Soft splendour on the waves below.
Bright as the sun at early morn
Fair pools that happy clime adorn,
Where shine the loveliest flowers on stems
Of crystal and all valued gems.
Blue lotuses through all the land
The glories of their blooms expand,
And the resplendent earth is strown
With peerless pearl and precious stone.
There stately trees can scarce uphold
The burthen of their fruits of gold,
And ever flaunt their gay attire
Of flower and leaf like flames of fire.
All there sweet lives untroubled spend
In bliss and joy that know not end,
While pearl-decked maidens laugh, or sing
To music of the silvery string. 1b
Still on your forward journey keep,
And rest you by the northern deep,
Where springing from the billows high
Mount Somagiri 2b seeks the sky,
And lightens with perpetual glow
The sunless realm that lies below.
There, present through all life’s extent,
Dwells Brahmá Lord preeminent,
And round the great God, manifest
In Rudra 3b forms high sages rest.
Then turn, O Vánarsrch no more,
Nor tempt the sunless, boundless shore.’
But special counselling he gave
To Hanumánwise and brave:
[ p. 379 ]
To him on whom his soul relied,
With friendly words the monarch cried:
‘O best of Vánarsght can stay
By land or sea thy rapid way,
Who through the air thy flight canst bend,
And to the Immortals’ home ascend.
All realms, I ween, are known to thee
With every mountain, lake, and sea.
In strength and speed which naught can tire
Thou, worthy rival of thy sire
The mighty monarch of the wind,
Where’er thou wilt a way canst find.
Exert thy power, O swift and strong,
Bring back the lady lost so long,
For time and place, O thou most wise,
Lie open to thy searching eyes.’
When Ráma heard that special best
To Hanumáne the rest,
He from the monarch’s favour drew
Hope of success and trust anew
That he on whom his lord relied,
In toil and peril trained and tried,
Would to a happy issue bring
The task commanded by the king.
He gave the ring that bore his name,
A token for the captive dame,
That the sad lady in her woe
The missive of her lord might know.
‘This ring,’ he said, 'my wife will see,
Nor fear an envoy sent by me.
Thy valour and thy skill combined,
Thy resolute and vigorous mind,
And King Sugríva’s behest,
With joyful hopes inspire my breast.’
Away, away the Vánars
Like locusts o’er the land outspread.
To northern realms where rising high
The King of Mountains cleaves the sky,
Fierce S’atabal with vast array
Of Vánariors led the way.
Far southward, as his lord decreed,
Wise Hanumán Wind-God’s seed,
With Angad his swift way pursued,
And Tára’s warlike multitude,
Strong Vinata with all his band
Betook him to the eastern land,
And brave Sushen in eager quest
Sped swiftly to the gloomy west.
Each Vánarftain sought with speed
The quarter by his king decreed,
While from his legions rose on high
The shout and boast and battle cry:
‘We will restore the dame and beat
The robber down beneath our feet.
My arm alone shall win the day
From Rávanin single fray,
Shall rob the robber of his life,
And rescue Ráma’s captive wife
All trembling in her fear and woe.
Here, comrades, rest: no farther go:
For I will vanquish hell, and she
Shall by this arm again be free.
The rooted mountains will I rend,
The mightiest trees will break and bend.
Earth to her deep foundations cleave,
And make the calm sea throb and heave.
A hundred leagues from steep to steep
In desperate bound my feet shall leap.
My steps shall tread unchecked and free.
Through woods, o’er land and hill and sea,
Range as they list from flood to fell,
And wander through the depths of hell.
‘How, King,’ cried Ráma, 'didst thou gain
Thy lore of sea and hill and plain?
‘I told thee how,’ Sugríva,
From Báli’s arm Máyáví [48]
To Malaya’s hill, and strove to save
His life by hiding in the cave.
I told how Báli sought, to kill
His foe, the hollow of the hill;
Nor need I, King, again unfold
The wondrous tale already told.
Then, wandering forth, my way I took
By many a town and wood and brook.
I roamed the earth from place to place,
Till, like a mirror’s polished face,
The whole broad disk, that lies between
Its farthest bounds, mine eyes had seen.
I wandered first to eastern skies
Where fairest trees rejoiced mine eyes,
And many a cave and wooded hill
Where lilies robed the lake and rill.
There metal dyes that hill [49] adorn
Whence springs the sun to light the morn.
There, too, I viewed the Milky sea,
Where nymphs of heaven delight to be.
Then to the south I made my way
From regions of the rising day,
And roamed o’er Vindhya, where the breeze
Is odorous of sandal trees.
Still in my fear I found no rest:
I sought the regions of the west,
And gazed on Asta, [50] where the sun
[ p. 380 ]
Sinks when his daily course is run
Then from that noblest hill I fled
And to the northern country sped,
Saw Himavánt 1 and Meru’Meru’sp,
And stood beside the northern deep.
But when, by Báli’s might oppressed,
E’en in those wilds I could not rest,
Came Hanumánwise and brave,
And thus his prudent counsel gave:
‘I told thee how Matanga 2 cursed
Thy tyrant, that his head should burst
In pieces, should be dare invade
The precincts of that tranquil shade.
There may we dwell in peace and be
From thy oppressor’s malice free.’
We went to Rishyamúka’s,
And spent our days secure from ill
Where, with that curse upon his head,
The cruel Báli durst not tread.’
Thus forth in quest of Sitá
The legions King Sugríva.
To many a distant town they hied
By many a lake and river’s side.
As their great sovereign’s order taught,
Through valleys, plains, and groves they sought.
They toiled unresting through the day:
At night upon the ground they lay
Where the tall trees, whose branches swayed
Beneath their fruit, gave pleasant shade.
Then, when a weary month was spent,
Back to Prasravan’s hill they went,
And stood with faces of despair
Before their king Sugrívae.
Thus, having wandered through the east,
Great Vinata his labours ceased,
And weary of the fruitless pain
Returned to meet the king again,
Brave S’atabali to the north
Had led his Vánarons forth.
Now to Sugríva he sped
With all his host dispirited.
Sushen the western realms had sought.
And homeward now his legions brought.
All to Sugriva came, where still
He sat with Ráma on the hill.
Before their sovereign humbly bent
And thus addressed him reverent:
‘On every hill our steps have been,
By wood and cave and deep ravine;
And all the wandering brooks we know
throughout the land that seaward flow,
Our feet by thy command have traced
the tangled thicket and the waste,
and dens and dingles hard to pass
for creeping plants and matted grass
Well have we searched with toil and pain,
And monstrous creatures have we slain
But Hanumánoblest mind
The Maithil lady yet will find;
For to his quarter of the sky 1b
The robber fiend was seen to fly,’
But Hanumánl onward pressed
With Tára, Angad, and the rest,
Through Vindhya’s pathless glens he sped
And left no spot unvisited.
He gazed from every mountain height,
He sought each cavern dark as night,
And wandered through the bloomy shade
By pool and river and cascade,
But, though they sought in every place,
Of Sitáthey found no trace.
On fruit and woodland berries fed
Through many a lonely wild they sped,
And reached at last, untouched by fear,
A desert terrible and drear:
A fruitless waste, a land of gloom
Where trees were bare of leaf and bloom
Where every scanty stream was dried,
And niggard earth her roots denied.
No elephants through all the ground,
No buffaloes or deer are found.
There roams no tiger, pard, or bear,
No creature of the wood is there.
No bird displays his glittering wings,
No tree, no shrub, no creeper springs.
There rise no lilies from the flood,
Resplendent with their flower and bud,
Where the delighted bees may throng
About the fragrance with their song.
There lived a hermit Kandu named,
For truth and wealth of penance famed.
Whom fervent zeal and holy rite
Had dowered with all-surpassing might.
His little son, a ten year child—
So chanced it—perished in the wild.
His death with fury stirred the sage,
Who cursed the forest in his rage,
Doomed from that hour to shelter none,
A waste for bird and beast to shun.
[ p. 381 ]
They searched by every forest edge,
They searched each cave and mountain ledge,
And thickets whence the water fell
Wandering through the tangled dell.
Striving to do Sugríva’s
They roamed along each leafy rill.
But vain were all endeavours, vain
The careful search, the toil and pain.
Through one dark grove they scarce could wind,
So thick were creepers intertwined.
There as they struggled through the wood
Before their eyes an Asur 1 stood.
High as a towering hill, his pride
The very Gods in heaven defied.
When on the fiend their glances fell
Each braced him for the combat well.
The demon raised his arm on high,
And rushed upon them with a cry.
Him Angad smote,—for, sure, he thought
This was the fiend they long had sought.
From his huge mouth by Angad felled,
The blood in rushing torrents welled,
As, like a mountain from his base
Uptorn, he dropped upon his face.
Thus fell the mighty fiend: and they
Through the thick wood pursued their way;
Then, weary with the toil, reclined
Where leafy boughs to shade them twined.
Then Angad spake: 'We Vánars
Have searched each valley, cave, and dell,
And hill, and brook, and dark recess,
And tangled wood, and wilderness.
But all in vain: no eye has seen
The robber or the Maithil queen.
A dreary time has passed away,
And stern is he we all obey.
Come, cast your grief and sloth aside:
Again be every effort tried;
So haply may our toil attain
The sweet success that follows pain.
Laborious effort, toil, and skill,
The firm resolve, the constant will
Secure at last the ends we seek:
Hence, O my friends, I boldly speak.
Once more then, noble hearts, once more
Let us to-day this wood explore,
And, languor and despair subdued,
Purchase success with toil renewed.
Sugríva king austere,
And Ráma’s wrath we needs must fear.
Come, Vánarsye think it wise,
And do the thing that I advise’
Then Gandhamádan replied
With lips that toil and thirst had dried;
‘Obey his words, for wise and true
Is all that he has counselled you.
Come, let your hosts their toil renew
And search each grove and desert through,
Each towering hill and forest glade.
By lake and brook and white cascade,
Till every spot, as our great lord
Commanded, be again explored.’
Uprose the Vánarsand all,
Obedient to the chieftain’s call,
And over the southern region sped
Where Vindhya’s tangled forests spread.
They clomb that hill that towers on high
Like a huge cloud in autumn’s sky,
Where many a cavern yawns, and streaks
Of radiant silver deck the peaks.
In eager search they wandered through
The forests where the Lodh trees grew,
Where the dark leaves were thick and green,
But found not Ráma’s darling queen.
Then faint with toil, their hearts depressed,
Descending from the mountain’s crest,
Their weary limbs a while to ease
They lay beneath the spreading trees.
Angad and Tára by his side,
Again rose Hanumántried
Each mountain cavern, dark and deep,
And stony pass and wooded steep,
The lion’s and the tiger’s home,
By rushing torrents white with foam.
Then with new ardour, south and west,
O’er Vindhya’s height the search they pressed.
The day prescribed was near and they
Still wandered on their weary way.
They reached the southern land beset
With woody mountains like a net.
At length a mighty cave they spied
That opened in a mountain’s side.
Where many a verdant creeper grew
And o’er the mouth its tendrils threw.
Thence issued crane, and swan, and drake,
And trooping birds that love the lake.
The Vánarsed within to cool
Their fevered lips in spring or pool.
Vast was the cavern dark and dread,
Where not a ray of light was shed;
Yet not the more their eyesight failed,
[ p. 382 ]
Their courage sank or valour quailed.
On through the gloom the Vánarssed
With hunger, thirst, and toil distressed,
Poor helpless wanderers, sad, forlorn,
With wasted faces wan and worn.
At length, when life seemed lost for aye,
They saw a splendour as of day,
A wondrous forest, fair and bright,
Where golden trees shot flamy light.
And lotus-covered pools were there
With pleasant waters fresh and fair,
And streams their rippling currents rolled
By seats of silver and of gold.
Fair houses reared their stately height
Of burnished gold and lazulite,
And glorious was the lustre thrown
Through lattices of precious stone.
And there were flowers and fruit on stems
Of coral decked with rarest gems,
And emerald leaves on silver trees,
And honeycomb and golden bees.
Then as the Vánarser drew,
A holy woman met their view.
Around her form was duly tied
A garment of the blackdeer’s hide. 1
Pure votaress she shone with light
Of fervent zeal and holy rite.
Then Hanumánre the rest
With reverent words the dame addressed:
‘Who art thou? say: and who is lord
Of this vast cave with treasures stored?’
374:1b Suhotra, S’arári, S’aragulma, Gain, Gavák-ha, Gavaya, Sushena, Gandhamádana, Ulkámukha, and Ananga. ↩︎
374:2b The modern Nerbudda. ↩︎
374:3b Krishnavení is mentioned in the Vishnu Purnna as ‘the deep Krishnaven’ '* but there appears to be no clue to its identification. ↩︎
374:4b The modern Godavery. ↩︎
374:5b The Mekbaias or Mekalas according to the Patánas live in the Vindhya hills, but here they appear among the peoples of the south. ↩︎
374:6b Utkal is still the native nameof Oriss*. ↩︎
374:7b The land of the people of the ‘ten forts.’ Professor Hall in a note on WlL.- SONS Vishnu Purana, Vol. II. p.160 says: “The oral traditions of the vicinity to this day assign the nameof Dasarna to a region lying to the east of the District of Cbundeyree.” ↩︎
374:8b Avantí is one of the ancient names of the celebrated Ujjayin or Oujein in Central India. ↩︎
374:9b Not identified ↩︎
374:10b Ayemukh means iron faced. The mountun is not identified. ↩︎
375:1 The Káverí or modern Cauvery is well known and has always borne the same appellation, being the Chaberis of Ptolemy. ↩︎
375:2 One of the seven principal mountain chains: the southern portion of the Western Gháts. ↩︎
375:3 Agastya is the great sage who has already frequently appeared as Ráma’s friend and benefactor. ↩︎
375:4 Támraparni is a river rising in Malaya. ↩︎
375:5 The Pándyas are a people of the Decean. ↩︎
375:6 Mahendra is the chain of hills that extends from Orissa and the northern Sircars to Gondwána, part of which near Ganjam is still called Mahendra Malay or hills of Mahendra. ↩︎
375:7 Lanká, Sinhaladvípa, Sarandib, or Ceylon, ↩︎
375:1b The Flowery Hill of course is mythical. ↩︎
375:2b The whole of the geography south of Lanká is of course mythical. Súryaván means Sunny. ↩︎
375:3b Vaidyut means connected with lightning. ↩︎
375:4b Agastya is here placed far to the south of Lanká. Earlier in this Canto he was said to dwell on Malaya. ↩︎
375:5b Bhogavatí has been frequently mentioned: it is the capital of the serpent Gods or demons, and usually represented as being in the regions under the earth. ↩︎
375:6b Vásuki is according to some accounts the king of the Nágas or serpent Gods. ↩︎
376:3 Suráshtra, the ‘good country,’ is the modern Surat. ↩︎
376:4 A country north-west of Afghanistan, Baíkh ↩︎
376:1b The Moon-mountain here is mythical. ↩︎
376:2b Sindhu is the Indus. ↩︎
376:3b Páriyátra, or as more usually written Páripátra, is the central or western portion of the Vindhya chain which skirts the province of Malwa. ↩︎
376:4b Vajra means both diamond and thunderbolt, the two substances being supposed to be identical. ↩︎
376:5b Chakraván means the discus-bearer. ↩︎
376:6b The discus is the favourite weapon of Vishnu ↩︎
376:7b The Indian Hephaistos or Vulcan. ↩︎
376:8b Panchajan was a demon who lived in the sea in the form of a conch shell. WILSON’S Vishnu Pura’na,* V. 21. ↩︎
376:9b Hayagríva,Horse-necked, is the name of a Daitya who at the dissolution of the universe caused by Brahmá’s sleep, seized and carried off the Vedas. Vishnu slew him and recovered the sacred treasures. ↩︎
377:1 Meru stands in the centre of Jambudwípa and consequently of the earth. “The sun travels round the world, keeping Meru always on his right. To the spectator who fronts him, therefore, as he rises Meru must be always on the north; and as the sun’s rays do not penetrate beyond the centre of the mountain, the regions beyond, or to the north of it must be in darkness, whilst those on the south of it must be in light: north and south being relative, not absolute, terms, depending on the position of the spectator with regard to the Sun and Meru.” WILSON’S Vishnu Pura’na, Vol. II. p. 243. Note. ↩︎
377:2 The Vis’vadevas are a class of deities to whom sacrifices should be daily offered, as part of the ordinary worship of the householder. According to the Váyun Purána this is a privilege conferred on them by Brahmá and the Pitris as a reward for religious austerities practised by them upon Himálaya. ↩︎
377:3 The eight Vasus were originally personifications like other Vedic deities, of natural phenomena, such as Fire, Wind, &c. Their appellations are variously given by different authorities. ↩︎
377:4 The Maruts or Storm-Gods, frequently addressed and worshipped as the attendants and allies of Indra. ↩︎
377:5 The mountain behind which the sun sets. ↩︎
377:4b The poet has not said who the sons of Yama are. ↩︎
377:5b The Lodhra or Lodh (Symplocoa Racemosa) and the DevadárueodaDeodar are well known trees. ↩︎
378:1 The hills mentioned are not identifiable. Soma means the Moon. Kála, black; Sudaras’an, fair to see; and Devasakhá friend of the Gods ↩︎
378:2 The God of Wealth. ↩︎
378:3 The nymphs of Paradise. ↩︎
378:4 Kuvera the son of Vis’ravas. ↩︎
378:5 A class of demigods who, like the Yakshas, are the attendants of Kuvera, and the guardians of his treasures. ↩︎
378:6 Situated in the eastern part of the Himálaya chain, on the north of Assam. The mountain was torn asunder and the pass formed by the War-God Kártikeya and Paras’uráma. ↩︎
379:1 Canto IX. ↩︎
379:2 Udayagiri or the hill from which the sun rises. ↩︎
379:3 Asta is the mountain behind which the sun sets. ↩︎