Ramayana of Valmiki

by Hari Prasad Shastri | 1952 | 527,382 words | ISBN-10: 9333119590 | ISBN-13: 9789333119597

This page is entitled “prince bharata finds ayodhya desolate” and represents Chapter 114 of the Ayodhya-kanda of the Ramayana (English translation by Hari Prasad Shastri). The Ramayana narrates the legend of Rama and Sita and her abduction by Ravana, the king of Lanka. It contains 24,000 verses divided into seven sections [viz., Ayodhya-kanda].

Chapter 114 - Prince Bharata finds Ayodhya desolate

The prince, in his chariot, which gave forth a thunderous sound as it rolled onward, entered Ayodhya. There he beheld the city where cats and owls ranged, and where the doors of the dwellings were closed, darkness and gloom reigning over all. The city resembling the planet Rohini, that has lost its splendour on the moon’s eclipse, or a mountain stream, whose waters have dried up in the sun’s heat, deserted by the waterfowl, the fishes all having perished.

Sad and wretched, on account of its separation from Rama, Ayodhya resembled the sacrificial flame, which when the oblation is poured into it, shines like a golden cone and then sinks into smoking ash, or like a mighty army divested of its weapons in battle, its horses, elephants, chariots and standards scattered abroad and its heroic warriors slain. That city which looked, as it were, like the waves of the sea whipped into foam by the storm, rolling and breaking and then sinking into silence with the dying out of the wind, or like the sacrificial pavilion deserted by the priests who go forth in search of alms after the sacrifice; or like kine bereft of the bull, who have ceased to graze in the pasture and stand in the enclosure dispirited; or like a necklace stripped of its precious gems; or like a meteor, its virtue exhausted, fallen to earth, deprived of its splendour; or like a flowering branch, loaded with blossom in the Spring, visited by a swarm of bees, that is suddenly consumed by a forest fire.

The streets were deserted and the fairs and markets dosed, and no merchandise was offered for sale. Dark and fearful, Ayodhya resembled the moon and stars obscured by heavy clouds in the rainy season, or a deserted tavern, its revellers departed, the liquor expended and naught but fragments of broken glass and pots in wild disorder scattered here and there. Ayodhya appeared like a tank sunk into the earth, the water being spent, the foundations having collapsed, the jars and earthen vessels lying scattered amidst the thirsty, standing there in despair; or it resembled the string of a great hero’s bow that has been severed by the arrow of his adversary and is lying on the earth; or an aged and ill-nourished mule, urged on by a soldier, slain in the battle and left unheeded.

Viewing the desolation, Prince Bharata, seated in his chariot, spoke to Sumantra, who was driving the equipage: “Alas! How sad that this city, formerly so gay, to-day appears so melancholy, the intoxicating fragrance of floral garlands and the scent of incense, no longer filling it. O Sumantra, I do not hear, as formerly, the sound of clattering chariots, the neighing of horses and the prolonged roaring of elephants. Alas! Since Rama departed, the young men of Ayodhya have ceased to adorn themselves with garlands of fresh blossoms and sandalwood and men no longer walk abroad decked with flowers. No longer are festivals observed and the people of the capital are merged in grief; it seems as if the glory of the city had departed with Rama. O! Ayodhya is bereft of light, like the night overcast with clouds at the time of the waxing moon. When will my brother, Ramacandra, return like a festival, diffusing joy in Ayodhya, as do the autumnal rains? Formerly, the royal highways of the capital were filled with richly attired youths, but to-day they are all deserted.”

Wailing and lamenting, Prince Bharata entered his father’s palace, which, bereft of the king, resembled a cave without a lion.

Seeing the inner compartment in complete darkness, the prince wept aloud, like the gods, when warring with the titans, are afflicted when beholding the darkening of the sun.

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