Reading section 27

29. Being repeatedly asked by his servants, his brother-princes and his mothers (as to the cause of his dementedness), he says he has none, and then resumes his taciturnity and indifference.

30. He would lecture his companions and friends saying, “do not set your mind to sensual enjoyments which are only pleasing for the time being.”

31. He has no affection for the richly adorned women of the harem, but rather looks upon them as the cause of destruction presented before him.

32. He often chaunts in plaintive notes, how his life is being spent in vain cares, estranged from those of the easily attainable state of (heavenly bliss).

33. Should some dependant courtier speak of his being an emperor (one day), he smiles at him as upon a raving madman, and then remains silent as one distracted in his mind.

34. He does not pay heed to what is said to him, nor does he look at any thing presented before him. He hates to look upon things even the most charming (to sight).

35. As it is chimerical to suppose the existence of an etherial lake, and lotus growing in the same, so it is false to believe the reality of the mind and its conceptions. Saying so Ráma marvels at nothing.

36. Even when sitting amidst beauteous maids, the darts of Cupid fail to pierce his impenetrable heart, as showers of rain the (unimpregnable) rock.

37. That “no sensible man should ever wish for riches which are but the seats of dangers”; making this his motto, Ráma gives away all that he has to beggars.

38. He sings some verses to this effect that “it is an error to call one thing as prosperity and the other adversity, when they are both but imaginations of the mind”.

39. He repeats some words to this purport that, “though it is the general cry, “O I am gone, I am helpless grown,” yet it is a wonder, that no body should betake himself to utter indifference.”

40. That Ráma, the destroyer of enemies, the great _Sála_ (oak) that is grown in the garden of Raghu, should get into such a state of mind is what causes grief in us.

41. We do not know, Oh great armed and lotus-eyed king! what to do with him in this state of his mind. We hope only in thee.

42. He laughs to scorn the counsels of the princes and Bráhmans before him, and spurns them as if they were fools.

43. He remains inactive with the conviction, that the world which appears to our view is a vanity, and the idea of self is also a vanity.

44. He has no respect for foes or friends, for himself or his kingdom, mother or riches, nor does he pay any regard to prosperity or adversity.

45. He is altogether quiescent, without any desire or effort, and devoid of a mainstay; he is neither captivated by any thing nor freed from worldly thoughts. These are the reasons which afflict us most.

46. He says, “what have we to do with riches, with our mothers, with this kingdom and all our activities.” Under these impressions, he is about to give up his life.

47. As the _chátaka_ (swallow) grows restless at the obstruction of rains (by hurricanes), so has Ráma become impatient (under the restraint) of his father and mother, his friends and kingdom, his enjoyments and even his own life.

48. Now in compassion on thy son, incline to root out this chagrin which like a noxious creeper has been spreading its branches (in his mind).

49. For notwithstanding his possession of all affluence, he looks upon the enjoyments of the world as his poison under such a disposition of his mind.

50. Where is that potent person in this earth, who can restore him to proper conduct (as by a potent medicine?).

51. Who is there, that like the sun removing the darkness of the world by his rays, will remove the errors that have been the cause of grief in Ráma’s mind, and thereby make his generosity effectual in his case.

CHAPTER XI.

CONSOLATION OF RÁMA.

Viswámitra said:—If such is the case, you who are intelligent, may go at once, and persuade that progeny of Raghu to come hither; as they do one deer by others (of the train).

2. This stupor of Ráma is not caused by any (external) accident or (inward) affection; it is I think the development of that superior intellect which rises from the right reasoning of dispassionate men.

3. Let Ráma come here for a while, and here shall we in a moment dispel the delusion (of his mind), as the wind drives away the clouds from the mountain-tops.

4. After his hebetude is removed by my reasoning, he shall be enabled to repose in that happy state of mind, to which we have arrived.

5. He shall not only attain to pure truth and a clear understanding of uninterrupted tranquility, but secure to himself a plumpness and beauteousness of his figure and complexion, as one derives from a potion of ambrosia.

6. He will then attend with all his heart to the full discharge of the proper course of his duties without remission, which will redound to his honour.

7. He will become strong with a knowledge of both worlds, and his exemption from the states of pleasure and pain, and then he will look upon gold and stones with an indifferent eye.

8. After the chief of the sages had spoken in this manner, the king resumed the firmness of his mind, and sent heralds after heralds to bring Ráma to him.

9. By this very time Ráma was preparing to rise from his seat in the palace to come over to his father, in the manner that the sun rises from the mountain in the east.

10. Surrounded by a few of his servants, he came with his two brothers to the hallowed hall of his father, resembling the heaven of the king of gods.

11. He saw at a distance his kingly sire seated amidst the assemblage of princes, as Indra surrounded by the gods.

12. He was accompanied on either side by the sages Vasishtha and Viswámitra, and respectfully attended by his staff of ministers, all well versed in the interpretation of all Sástras.

13. He was fanned by charming damsels, waving the fine _chauri_ flappers in their hands, and equalling in beauty the goddesses presiding over the quarters of heaven.

14. Vasishtha, Viswámitra and the other sages, with Dasaratha and his chiefs, saw Ráma coming at a distance as beautiful as Skanda himself.

15. He appeared by his qualities of mildness and gravity to resemble the mount Himálaya (with his cooling frost and firmness), and was esteemed by all for the depth and clearness (of his understanding).

16. He was handsome and well proportioned (in his features), auspicious in his look, but humble and magnanimous in his mind. With loveliness and mildness of his person, he was possessed of all manly prowess.

17. He was just developed to youth, yet he was as majestic as an elderly man. He was neither morose nor merry, but seemed to be fully satisfied with himself, as if he had obtained all the objects of his desire.

18. He was a good judge of the world, and possessed of all holy virtues. The purity of his mind was the attraction for all the virtues which met in him.

19. The receptacle of his mind was filled by his magnanimity and honourable virtues, and the candour of his conduct showed him in the light of perfection (to every body).

20. Endowed with these various virtues and decorated by his necklace and fine apparel, Ráma the support of Raghu’s race, approached (his father) with a smiling countenance.

21. He bowed his head to his father with the sparkling gems trembling in his locks, and imparting to his head the graceful appearance of the mountain _Sumeru_ shaken by an earth-quake.

22. The lotus-eyed Ráma came up to salute the feet of his father, when the lord of the sages (Viswámitra) was speaking with him.

23. First of all Ráma saluted his father, and then the two honorable sages, he next saluted the Bráhmanas, and then his relations, and lastly his elders and well wishing friends.

24. He then received and returned the salutations of the chiefs and princes, bowing to him with graceful motion of their heads and respectful addresses.

25. Ráma of god-like beauty and equanimity of mind, approached the sacred presence of his father, with the blessings of the two sages.

26. During the act of his saluting the feet of his father, the lord of the earth repeatedly kissed his head and face, and embraced him with fondness.

27. At the same time, he the destroyer of his enemies, embraced Lakshmana and Satrughna, with as intense an affection as the swan embracing the lotus flowers.

28. “Be you seated my son upon my lap”, said the king to Ráma, who however, took his seat on a fine piece of cloth spread on the floor by his servants.

29. The king said “O my son and receptacle of blessings, you have attained the age of discretion, so put not yourself to that state of self-mortification, as the dull-headed do from their crazy understandings.

30. “Know that it is by following the course of his elders, guides and Bráhmanas, that one attains to meritoriousness, and not by his persistence in error.

31. “So long will the train of our misfortunes lie at a distance, as we do not allow the seeds of error to have access to us.”

32. Vasishtha said, Oh strong armed prince! you are truly heroic to have conquered your worldly appetites, which are at once as difficult to be eradicated as they are fierce in their action.

33. Why do you allow yourself like the unlearned, to be drowned in this rolling sea of errors, causing such dull inactivity in you?

34. Viswámitra said “why are your eyes so unsteady (with doubts) as the tremulous clusters of blue lotuses. You ought to do away with this unsteadiness, and tell us what is that grief (which rankles) in your mind.

35. “What are these thoughts, and what are their names and natures, their number and causes, that infest your mind like its maladies (in the same manner) as the mice undermine a fabric.”