Sundara Kanda, Sarga 35

Meaning

“Where did your contact with Śrī Rāma come about and how do you know Lakṣmaṇa? And how did a meeting take place between monkeys and human beings? (2)

Meaning

“Describe in detail once more those distinctive marks which exist on the person of Śrī Rāma as well as on that of Lakṣmaṇa, O Hanumān, so that grief may not take possession of me. (3)

Meaning

“Tell me what the shape and form of Śrī Rāma as well as of Lakṣmaṇa are like. What are their thighs and arms like?” (4)

Meaning

Questioned thus by Sītā, Hanumān, sprung from the loins of the wind-god, for his part forthwith proceeded to describe Śrī Rāma in accordance with facts as follows: (5)

Meaning

He said: “Luckily enough for me, O princess of the Videha territory, whose eyes resemble a lotus petal, you inquire in detail of me about the disposition of limbs of your husband as well as of Lakṣmaṇa, even though knowing them. (6)

Meaning

“Hear from me even as I speak, O large-eyed lady, of those distinctive marks which have been actually noticed by me on the person of Śrī Rāma as well as on that of Lakṣmaṇa. (7)

Meaning

“Śrī Rāma has eyes resembling a lotus petal; his countenance resembles the full moon, O daughter of Janaka ! He is richly endowed with charm and generosity from his birth. (8)

Meaning

“He vies with the sun in effulgence, with the earth in forbearance, with sage Bṛhaspati, the preceptor of gods, in intelligence and with lndra in renown. (9)

Meaning

“He is a protector of the entire world of living beings as well as of his own people. Nay, he guards his own character and is a vindicator of virtue and the scourge of his enemies. (10)

Meaning

“Śrī Rāma, O lovely lady, is a protector of the world and the preserver of the four grades of society. Nay, as the Creator and Protector of the universe, he has fixed the bounds of propriety to be observed by the people and has inspired the Ṛṣis and others to do so. (11)

Meaning

“He is full of splendour and is greatly adored by all and is steadfast in his vow of chastity. He is keenly alive to the services of holy men and knows how to popularize right actions. (12)

Meaning

“He is well-versed in politics and a worshipper of Brāhmaṇas, is full of wisdom and richly endowed with amiability, has subdued his passions and is the torment of his foes. (13)

Meaning

“He is well-versed in Yajurveda and is highly respected by the knowers of Veda. He is highly proficient in the science of archery as well as in the Vedas as also in the sciences auxiliary to the Vedas. (14)

Meaning

“He has broad shoulders, mighty-arms, a conch-shaped neck, a charming countenance and coppery eyes; he has his clavicle concealed behind muscles and is known by the people by the name of Rāma. (15)

Meaning

“He has a voice deep like the sound of a kettledrum and a glossy skin, is full of glory, square-built and of well-proportioned limbs and is endowed with a dark-brown complexion. (16)

Meaning

He is ever stiff in three limbs1 (viz., the breast, wrist and fist), long in three2 (viz., the eyebrows, arms and the scrotum), uniform in three (viz., his locks, testicles and knees), elevated in three4 (viz., the breast, the rim of the navel and the abdomen), coppery in three (viz., the rims of his eyes, nails and the palms as well as the soles), soft in three (viz., the end of the membrum virile, the lines on his soles and the hair), and deep in three (viz., the voice, gait and the navel). He has three folds (in the skin of his neck and belly), is depressed at three places (viz., the middle of his soles, the lines on his soles, and the nipples) , endowed with three9 spirals in the hair of his head, four lines at the root of his thumbs10 (indicating his knowledge of all the four Vedas) and four lines11 on his forehead (indicating longevity), is four cubits high, and has four pairs of limbs (viz., the cheeks, arms, shanks and knees) equally matched.12 He has fourteen other pairs of limbs (viz., the eyebrows, nostrils, eyes, ears, the lips, nipples, elbows, wrists, the knees, the testicles, the loins, the hands, the feet and the thighs equally matched.13 The four large teeth at both the ends of his upper and the lower jaws are very sharp.14 He walks in four different gaits resembling those of a lion, a tiger, an elephant and a bull15, is endowed with excellent lips, chin and nose, five glossy limbs, viz., the hair, eyes, teeth, skin and soles and eight long limbs, viz., the arms, the fingers and the toes, the eyes and the ears, the nose, the backbone and the body. (17—19)

Meaning

“Śrī Rāma, a scion of Raghu, has ten lotus-like limbs (viz., the countenance, the mouth, the eyes, the tongue, lips, palate, breasts, nails, the hands and the feet1), ten ample limbs, viz., the chest, the head, the forehead, the neck, the arms, the shoulders, the navel, the feet, the back and the ears2, is spread through by reason of three, (viz., splendour, renown and glory), has two white limbs, viz., the teeth and the eyes, is elevated in six limbs viz., the flanks, the abdomen, the breast, the nose, the shoulders and the forehead3; fine or sharp in nine, viz., the hair, the moustaches and the beard, nails, the hair on the body, the skin, the finger-joints, the membrum virile acumen and perception4 and pursues religious merit, worldly riches and sensual delight in three periods, viz., the forenoon, midday and afternoon. (20)

Meaning

“He is devoted to truth and righteousness and glorious and remains intent on accumulating wealth and power and showering favour on the people. He knows the right use of time and place and speaks kindly to all people. (21)

Meaning

“His brother, Lakṣmaṇa, son of Sumitrā, too, of immeasurable splendour, is a replica of Śrī Rāma in affection, charm and excellences. (22)

Meaning

“He is endowed with a golden lustre, while the glorious and highly illustrious Śrī Rāma is dark-brown of hue. Scouring the entire globe, eager as they are for your sight, both the aforesaid tigers among men got united with us. Ranging the earth looking about for you only, they for their part saw sitting at the foot of Mount Ṛṣyamūka, thick with numerous trees, Sugrīva of pleasing aspect, the lord of monkeys, dethroned by his elder brother, Vāli, and stricken with the fear of his aforesaid brother. Nay, we waited upon the aforesaid Sugrīva, the ruler of monkeys, who was free from deceit in combat and had been deposed from his throne by his elder brother, Vāli. Thereupon the two princes, who were clad in tatters and carried most excellent bows in their hands, sought the lovely region of Mount Ṛṣyamūka. Distracted with fear to behold the aforesaid tigers among men, armed each with a bow, that jewel among monkeys leapt up the summit of the aforesaid mountain. Ensconced on that peak, that ruler of monkeys despatched me alone with expedition to their presence. At Sugrīva’s command, I approached with folded hands those mighty tigers among men, who were richly endowed with charm and auspicious bodily marks. Having fully known the real facts from me, those two jewels among men were filled with joy, and were transported by me on my shoulders to that region where Sugrīva was. The two princes were introduced in their reality by me to the high-souled Sugrīva. (23—32)

Meaning

“As a sequel to their holding talks with one another, a great amity sprang up between them––Śrī Rāma and Sugrīva. On that occasion those illustrious personage, the lord of monkeys and the ruler of men, felt mutually comforted by narrating their respective past history. Śrī Rāma (the eldest brother of Lakṣmaṇa) then consoled Sugrīva, who had been banished for the sake of his wife, Rūmā, who had been wrested from him by his elder brother, Vāli, who was endowed with extraordinary energy. Thereupon Lakṣmaṇa spoke to Sugrīva, the lord of monkeys, about the grief caused to Śrī Rāma of unwearied action by your (Sītā’s) loss. “Hearing the words uttered by Lakṣmaṇa, the aforesaid lord of monkeys for his part looked extremely lustreless on that occasion like the sun overshadowed by the planet Rāhu. Fetching all those sets of jewels which adorned your limbs and which had been dropped on the earth’s surface by you while being carried away by the ogre Rāvaṇa, the leaders of monkey-hordes, greatly delighted, showed them to Śrī Rāma. They, however, did not know your whereabouts. The jewels, which were handed over at that time to Śrī Rāma while he had completely lost his consciousness due to excessive grief, had fallen with a tinkling sound and got scattered, and had been brought in the first instance when they had actually fallen on the ground, by me alone. Clasping those jewels, worth beholding as they were, to his bosom, that adorable prince, who is a manifestation of the Deity, wailed in many ways. Even as he looked on them, he wept and pined for you again and again; the lamentation of Śrī Rāma, son of Daśaratha, highly inflamed the fire of our grief at that time. (33—42)

Meaning

“Stricken with agony, that exalted soul lay down senseless on the ground for a long time and was then roused by me by means of various cheering expressions with difficulty. (43)

Meaning

“Having examined those valuable jewels, they showed them again and again to one another, and Śrī Rāma, together with Lakṣmaṇa, deposited them with Sugrīva.(44)

Meaning

“That scion of Raghu feels sore distressed at your loss even as the mountain* reputed to be the seat of the fire of universal destruction is ever burning with a mighty blazing fire, O noble lady ! (45)

Meaning

“On account of you, sleeplessness, grief and anxiety too consume the high-souled Śrī Rāma (a scion of Raghu), even as the three sacred fires keep a fire-sanctuary heated. (46)

Meaning

“Śrī Rāma, a scion of Raghu, has been shaken by grief caused by your absence in the same way as a large mountain is rocked by a violent earthquake. (47)

Meaning

“Unable to see you, O princess, Śrī Rāma finds no delight even while ranging highly charming woodlands and by the side of streams and cascades. (48)

Meaning

“Making short work of Rāvaṇa with his near and dear ones, O daughter of Janaka, the celebrated Śrī Rāma, a scion of Raghu, a veritable tiger among men, will soon recover you. (49)

Meaning

“United together in this way, both Śrī Rāma and Sugrīva then arrived at a mutual understanding to get rid of Vāli and to institute a search for you. (50)

Meaning

“On their reaching Kiṣkindhā together, the aforesaid Vāli, the ruler of monkeys, was then killed in combat by those two gallant princes. (51)

Meaning

“Having struck down Vāli by his prowess in fight, Śrī Rāma thereupon crowned Sugrīva king of all the hordes of bears and monkeys. (52)

Meaning

“In this way, O godlike lady, did the alliance of Śrī Rāma and Sugrīva come about. And know me to be Hanumān arrived here as their envoy. (53)

Meaning

“Having regained his lost sovereignty and calling together the great monkeys owing allegiance to him, and endowed with extraordinary might, Sugrīva despatched them in all the ten directions (viz., the four quarters, the four intermediate points, the higher and the lower regions). (54)

Meaning

“Commanded by Sugrīva, the lord of monkeys, monkeys possessed of extraordinary vigour and looking like so many lordly mountains, sallied forth in all directions on the earth. (55)

Meaning

“Searching for you, afraid as we were of violating the command of Sugrīva, we as well as other monkeys have been actually trotting the entire globe. (56)

Meaning

“The glorious son of Vāli, Aṅgada by name, who is endowed with extraordinary might and is a veritable tiger among monkeys, set out accompanied by one-third of the Vānara army. (57)

Meaning

“A number of days and nights rolled past us, overwhelmed as we were with grief, having got lost on the Vindhyan range, the foremost of mountains. (58)

Meaning

“Due to despondency in the matter of accomplishing our purpose and in fear of the lord of monkeys, the time-limit for return having expired, we got ready to give up the ghost. (59)

Meaning

“Having not been able to find out any trace of Your Majesty, even on scouring mountain fastnesses as also river banks and regions surrounding cascades, we stood resolved to yield our lives. (60)

Meaning

“We then sat down to fast till death on the summit of that Vindhyan mountain. Plunged deep into an ocean of grief on seeing all the foremost of monkeys resolved upon fasting till death, Prince Aṅgada began to bewail your untraceability, O princess of the Videha territory, as also the destruction of Vāli, his own father, and our resolution to die of hunger as well as the death of Jaṭāyu. “For helping our cause (under the dispensation of Providence), now that we had lost all hope of carrying out the behest of our master, Sugrīva, and longed to die, there appeared on the spot a gigantic and powerful bird, the king of vultures, Sampātī by name, the uterine elder brother of Jaṭāyu, also a king of vultures. (61—64)

Meaning

“Hearing of the destruction of his younger brother, Jaṭāyu, he spoke in anguish as follows : ‘I wish to hear it narrated by you, O jewels among monkeys, by whom my younger brother was killed and where he was struck down.’ Thereupon Aṅgada truly related to him how that great soul was killed by an ogre of terrible form on account of you (Sītā), whom Jaṭāyu was trying to rescue from that monster’s clutches. That son of Aruṇa, Sampātī, for his part felt distressed to hear of Jaṭāyu’s killing. (65—67)

Meaning

“Nay, he spoke of you as dwelling in the abode of Rāvaṇa, O lady of excellent limbs ! Hearing the aforesaid report of Sampātī, which intensified our joy, and departing from the aforesaid Vindhyan mountain, as urged by Sampātī, we all duly reached the excellent seashore, with Aṅgada as our leader. (68-69)

Meaning

“Feeling happy and strong, resolved as they were to discover you, all the monkeys headed by Aṅgada then arrived near the seashore. (70)

Meaning

“The monkeys, however, who were very keen to find you, fell a prey to a terrible anxiety at the sight of the sea. Dispelling the acute fear of the monkey army, which was sinking into despondency on beholding the sea, I forthwith leapt across a distance of one hundred Yojanas (or eight hundred miles). Nay, Laṅkā too, which is crowded with ogres, was duly penetrated into by me at night. (71-72)

Meaning

“Rāvaṇa also was beheld by me as well as you, who are sore stricken with grief. All this has been narrated to you by me in accordance with facts, O irreproachable lady ! (73)

Meaning

“Speak to me, O godlike lady; I am a messenger of Śrī Rāma, son of Daśaratha. Therefore, know me, O godlike lady, to be Hanumān, son of the wind-god, a minister of Sugrīva, arrived here for your sake, having exerted in the cause of Śrī Rāma. All is well with your lord, Śrī Rāma, a scion of Kakutstha, the foremost of all wielders of weapons. (74-75)

Meaning

“So is Lakṣmaṇa, who remains ever engaged in propitiating his eldest brother and is endowed with auspicious bodily marks, nay, is devoted to the well-being of your aforesaid powerful husband, O godlike lady ! (76)

Meaning

“I, for my part, have arrived here alone in obedience to the command of Sugrīva. This southern quarter has been scoured by me, moving all alone, capable as I am of changing my form at will and keen as I was to find out your whereabouts. By good luck I shall be able to dispel the agony of the monkey hordes who are bewailing your loss by telling them your discovery. Luckily enough, my leaping across the sea on this occasion will not go in vain. (77—79)

Meaning

“I shall win, O godlike lady, this renown of having discovered you. Nay, having killed Rāvaṇa, the suzerain lord of ogres, with his sons and kinsfolk, Śrī Rāma, a scion of Raghu, will soon meet you. There is a mountain, Mālyavān by name, which is the foremost of mountains, O princess of the Videha territory ! From that mountain, which constituted the abode of Keśarī, the monkey Keśarī repaired to the Gokarṇa mountain. Enjoined by celestial sages, the aforesaid mighty monkey, who is my father, killed Sambasādana (a demon of that name, who oppressed the people on the seaside) on that sacred spot on the seashore. (80—82)

Meaning

“Begotten by the wind-god, O princess of Mithilā, through the consort of that monkey, I am called Hanumān and known all over the world for my own exploits. (83)

Meaning

“Indeed to inspire you with confidence, O princess of the Videha territory, the excellences of your lord have been recounted by me. Before long, O godlike lady, will Śrī Rāma, a scion of Raghu, take you without doubt from this place.” (84)

Meaning

Reassured thus by cogent proofs and the identification marks described by Hanumān, Sītā, who was emaciated through grief, believed him to be a messenger of her husband and was moved to incomparable joy. Nay, due to excessive joy the daughter of Janaka shed tears of joy from her eyes fringed with curved lashes. (85-86)

Meaning

The charming countenance of that large-eyed lady with coppery, white and big eyes shone at that time like the moon (lit., the lord of stars), disengaged from the hold of Rāhu. (87)

Meaning

She now thought Hanumān unmistakably to be a monkey, and not otherwise. Hanumān now addressed the following excellent words to Sītā of pleasing aspect: (88)

Meaning

“Everything that I wished to say has thus been told by me. Be reassured, O princess of Mithilā ! What more can I do for you and what would please you? I should like to return if you allow me to go. (89)

Meaning

“After the demon Sambasādana had been killed in combat by Kesari, a distinguished hero among the monkeys, at the command of an eminent sage, I was then born of the loins of the wind-god, O princess of Mithilā, and am a monkey equal to him in might.” (90)