Kishkindha Kanda, Sarga 57

Meaning

Even after hearing the words of Sampāti, whose voice had turned hoarse due to grief caused by the news of his brother’s death, the monkey generals did not put faith in his words, seized as they were with suspicion caused by his contemplated action of eating up the monkeys. (1)

Meaning

Seeing the vulture, the said monkeys, for their part, who had sat down to starve themselves to death, entertained the horrid idea that he would eat them all up. (2)

Meaning

“If he eats up us, who have sat down to fast till death, we shall have thoroughly accomplished our purpose, having attained speedy success (in the form of death) through this act of his.” (3)

Meaning

All those monkey leaders subsequently arrived at this latter conclusion. Having helped the vulture to descend from the mountain-peak, Aṅgada then spoke to the vulture as follows : (4)

Meaning

“There was a glorious lord of monkeys, King Ṛkṣrāja by name, my grandfather, O bird ! And he had two pious sons, Vālī and Sugrīva, sprung from his own loins, both possessed of great strength. My father, King Vālī, was well-known for his exploits in the world. (5-6)

Meaning

“The sovereign of the whole earth and a great chariot warrior born in the line of the Ikṣwākus, and son of the late King Daśaratha, the glorious Rāma, who was wholly intent upon carrying out the command of his father and had taken to the path of virtue, entered the forest of Daṇḍaka with his younger brother, Lakṣmaṇa, and consort, Sītā (a princess of the Videha territory). (7-8)

Meaning

“His consort, Sītā, was forcibly borne away from Janasthāna by Rāvaṇa. The king of vultures, Jaṭāyu by name, for his part, who was a friend of Śrī Rāmā’s father (Emperor Daśaratha), observed Sītā, a princess of the Videha territory, being borne away in an aerial car through the airspace. Having deprived Rāvaṇa of his aerial car by shattering it and placed Sītā (a princess of Mithilā) on the ground, Jaṭāyu, who had been completely exhausted and was aged too, was slain by Rāvaṇa in combat.(9-10)

Meaning

“In this way the vulture, Jaṭāyu, was killed by the said Rāvaṇa, who was superior in might, and, having been cremated by Śrī Rāma, attained the highest destiny. (11)

Meaning

“Then the celebrated Śrī Rāma contracted an alliance with my uncle, the high-souled Sugrīva, and killed my father (as a token of his friendship). (12)

Meaning

“Since Sugrīva had been banished with his ministers by my father, Śrī Rāma forthwith installed him on the throne after killing Vālī. (13)

Meaning

“Installed on the throne as the lord of monkeys by Śrī Rāma, the aforesaid Sugrīva is now the ruler of all the monkey chiefs. Dispatched by him and directed by Śrī Rāma, and looking about here and there in this way, we could not find Sītā (a princess of the Videha territory) any more than one would perceive the splendour of the sun at night. (14-15)

Meaning

“Having explored the Daṇḍaka forest most carefully, we, however, penetrated deeply through ignorance into a gaping hole in the ground. (16)

Meaning

“Nay, even as we were scouring that cavern constructed by the demon Maya by dint of his wonderful architectural skill, the period of one month appointed by the king, Sugrīva, as the time-limit for the search, slipped past us. (17)

Meaning

“Having exceeded the time-limit fixed by the king, we all, who were engaged in carrying out the command of Sugrīva (the ruler of monkeys), have sat down through fear to starve ourselves to death. (18)

Meaning

“In the event of Śrī Rāma, a scion of Kākutstha, as well as Sugrīva with Lakṣmaṇa being angry, there is no hope of survival for us all even if we return to Kiṣkindhā.” (19)