Hindu literature Part 45

When the vast beast the princes saw, They marvelled and were filled with awe.

The sons of high-souled Sagar round That elephant in reverence wound.

Then in the western region they With might unwearied cleft their way.

There saw they with astonished eyes Saumanas, beast of mountain size.

Round him with circling steps they went With greetings kind and reverent.

On, on--no thought of rest or stay-- They reached the seat of Soma's sway.

There saw they Bhadra, white as snow, With lucky marks that fortune show, Bearing the earth upon his head.

Round him they paced with solemn tread, And honored him with greetings kind; Then downward yet their way they mined.

They gained the tract 'twixt east and north Whose fame is ever blazoned forth, And by a storm of rage impelled, Digging through earth their course they held.

Then all the princes, lofty-souled, Of wondrous vigor, strong and bold, Saw Vasudeva standing there In Kapil's form he loved to wear, And near the everlasting G.o.d The victim charger cropped the sod.

They saw with joy and eager eyes The fancied robber and the prize, And on him rushed the furious band Crying aloud, 'Stand, villain! stand!'

'Avaunt! avaunt!' great Kapil cried, His bosom flushed with pa.s.sion's tide; Then by his might that proud array All scorched to heaps of ashes lay.

CANTO XLII

SAGAR'S SACRIFICE

Then to the prince his grandson, bright With his own fame's unborrowed light, King Sagar thus began to say, Marvelling at his sons' delay:-- 'Thou art a warrior skilled and bold, Match for the mighty men of old.

Now follow on thine uncles' course And track the robber of the horse.

To guard thee take thy sword and bow, For huge and strong are beasts below.

There to the reverend reverence pay, And kill the foes who check thy way; Then turn successful home and see My sacrifice complete through thee.'

Obedient to the high-souled lord Grasped Ansuman his bow and sword, And hurried forth the way to trace With youth and valor's eager pace.

On sped he by the path he found Dug by his uncles underground.

The warder elephant he saw Whose size and strength pa.s.s Nature's law-- Who bears the world's tremendous weight, Whom G.o.d, fiend, giant, venerate.

Bird, serpent, and each flitting shade, To him the honor meet he paid-- With circling steps and greeting due, And further prayed him, if he knew, To tell him of his uncles' weal, And who had dared the horse to steal.

To him in war and council tried The warder elephant replied:-- 'Thou, son of Asamanj, shalt lead In triumph back the rescued steed,'

As to each warder beast he came And questioned all, his words the same, The honored youth with gentle speech Drew eloquent reply from each-- That fortune should his steps attend, And with the horse he home should wend.

Cheered with the grateful answer, he Pa.s.sed on with step more light and free, And reached with careless heart the place Where lay in ashes Sagar's race.

Then sank the spirit of the chief Beneath that shock of sudden grief-- And with a bitter cry of woe He mourned his kinsmen fallen so.

He saw, weighed down by woe and care, The victim charger roaming there.

Yet would the pious chieftain fain Oblations offer to the slain: But, needing water for the rite, He looked and there was none in sight.

His quick eye searching all around The uncle of his kinsmen found-- King Garud, best beyond compare Of birds who wing the fields of air.

Then thus unto the weeping man The son of Vinata began:-- 'Grieve not, O hero, for their fall Who died a death approved of all.

Of mighty strength, they met their fate By Kapil's hand whom none can mate.

Pour forth for them no earthly wave, A holier flood their spirits crave.

If, daughter of the Lord of Snow, Ganga would turn her stream below, Her waves that cleanse all mortal stain Would wash their ashes pure again.

Yea, when her flood whom all revere Rolls o'er the dust that moulders here, The sixty thousand, freed from sin, A home in Indra's heaven shall win.

Go, and with ceaseless labor try To draw the G.o.ddess from the sky.

Return, and with thee take the steed; So shall thy grandsire's rite succeed,'

Prince Ansuman the strong and brave Followed the rede Suparna gave.

The glorious hero took the horse, And homeward quickly bent his course.

Straight to the anxious King he hied, Whom l.u.s.tral rites had purified-- The mournful story to unfold And all the King of birds had told.

The tale of woe the monarch heard, No longer was the rite deferred: With care and just observance he Accomplished all, as texts decree.

The rites performed, with brighter fame, Mighty in counsel, home he came.

He longed to bring the river down, But found no plan his wish to crown.

He pondered long with anxious thought, But saw no way to what he sought.

Thus thirty thousand years he spent, And then to heaven the monarch went.

CANTO XLIII

BHAGiRATH

"When Sagar thus had bowed to fate, The lords and commons of the state Approved with ready heart and will Prince Ansuman his throne to fill.

He ruled, a mighty king, unblamed, Sire of Dilipa justly famed.

To him, his child and worthy heir, The King resigned his kingdom's care, And on Himalaya's pleasant side His task austere of penance plied.

Bright as a G.o.d in clear renown He planned to bring pure Ganga down.

There on his fruitless hope intent Twice sixteen thousand years he spent, And in the grove of hermits stayed Till bliss in heaven his rites repaid.

Dilipa then, the good and great, Soon as he learnt his kinsmen's fate, Bowed down by woe, with troubled mind.

Pondering long no cure could find.

'How can I bring,' the mourner sighed, 'To cleanse their dust, the heavenly tide?

How can I give them rest, and save Their spirits with the offered wave?'

Long with this thought his bosom skilled In holy discipline was filled.

A son was born, Bhagirath named, Above all men for virtue famed.

Dilipa many a rite ordained, And thirty thousand seasons reigned.

But when no hope the king could see His kinsmen from their woe to free, The lord of men, by sickness tried, Obeyed the law of fate, and died; He left the kingdom to his son, And gained the heaven his deeds had won.

The good Bhagirath, royal sage, Had no fair son to cheer his age.

He, great in glory, pure in will, Longing for sons was childless still.

Then on one wish, one thought intent, Planning the heavenly stream's descent, Leaving his ministers the care And burden of his state to bear-- Dwelling in far Gokarna he Engaged in long austerity.

With senses checked, with arms upraised, Five fires around and o'er him blazed.

Each weary month the hermit pa.s.sed Breaking but once his awful fast.

In winter's chill the brook his bed, In rain, the clouds to screen his head.

Thousands of years he thus endured Till Brahma's favor was a.s.sured-- And the high Lord of living things Looked kindly on his sufferings.

With trooping G.o.ds the Sire came near The King who plied his task austere:-- 'Blest Monarch, of a glorious race, Thy fervent rites have won my grace.

Well hast thou wrought thine awful task, Some boon in turn, O Hermit, ask.'

Bhagirath, rich in glory's light, The hero with the arm of might, Thus to the Lord of earth and sky Raised suppliant hands and made reply:-- 'If the great G.o.d his favor deigns, And my long toil its fruit obtains, Let Sagar's sons receive from me Libations that they long to see.

Let Ganga with her holy wave The ashes of the heroes lave-- That so my kinsmen may ascend To heavenly bliss that ne'er shall end.

And give, I pray, O G.o.d, a son, Nor let my house be all undone.

Sire of the worlds! be this the grace Bestowed upon Ikshvaku's race,'

The Sire, when thus the King had prayed, In sweet kind words his answer made:-- 'High, high thy thought and wishes are, Bhagirath of the mighty car!

Ikshvaku's line is blest in thee, And as thou prayest it shall be.

Ganga, whose waves in Swarga flow, Is daughter of the Lord of Snow.

Win Siva that his aid be lent To hold her in her mid-descent-- For earth alone will never bear Those torrents hurled from upper air; And none may hold her weight but He, The Trident-wielding deity,'

Thus having said, the Lord supreme Addressed him to the heavenly stream; And then with G.o.ds and Maruts went To heaven, above the firmament."

SAKOONTALa