Chapter 64 - Rama’s Wrath

Stricken with grief, Rama addressed Lakshmana in broken accents, saying:—•“O Lakshmana, repair with all haste to the river Godaveri; it may bethat Sita has gone thither to gather lotuses.”

At these words, Lakshmana immediately proceeded to the lovely river Godaveri and having visited the sacred fords, returning, spoke to Rama, saying:—

“I have searched all the holy places but I have not seen her anywhere nor does she answer to my call. Where can Vaidehi have gone? I do not know where that lady of slender waist can be, O Rama.”

Hearing Lakshmana speak thus, the unfortunate Rama, distracted with anxiety, ran to the banks of the Godaveri river and there cried out:—“Where is Sita?”

But neither the spirits of the forest nor the river dared to inform Rama that she had been borne away by that Indra of Titans who merited death.

The Godaveri, recollecting the former exploits of the wicked Ravana, was restrained by fear from imparting what was known to her of Vaidehi’s fate. The river’s silence caused Rama to abandon all hope of seeing Sita again and overcome with despair at her disappearance he said to Saumitri:—

“The beloved Godaveri has no answer for me, O Lakshmana. What shall I say to Janaka or Vaidehi’s mother when, returning without her, we meet once more? Seeing me without Vaidehi, I shall become an object of odium to them.

“When, dispossessed of my kingdom, I was forced to live in the forest on wild fruits, my misery was assuaged by the Princess of Videha. Where is she now? Far from my kinsmen, unable to find Vaidehi, how shall I pass the long nights -without sleep?

“I have searched everywhere, by the Mandakini, in Janasthana and on the mountain Prasravana to find Sita. O Hero, observe the wild deer, full of energy, who regard me unceasingly and by their glances seem to wish to communicate with me.”

Beholding them, that Lion among Men, Raghava, fixing his gaze on them cried:—“Where is Sita?” in a voice broken by sobs. Thus addressed by that Lord of Men, the deer rose and turned their heads towards the south, looking upward, thus indicating the path by which Sita had been borne away.

Thereafter those deer, turning southwards, sometimes fixing their gaze on that Chief of Men and then looking towards the sky, emitted cries, running in front of the two brothers, seeking to attract their attention, and Lakshmana, understanding their movements and their cries, said to his elder brother:—

“O My Lord, since you accosted these deer saying: ‘Where is Sita?’ they, rising up, have indicated a southerly direction, let us therefore follow that path; perchance we shall discover some trace of that noble lady or she herself.”

“Be it so” answered Kakutstha, directing his step towards the south, followed by Lakshmana. Thereafter casting his gaze on the earth, he observed some flowers scattered on the ground and, exceedingly distressed, said to his brother:—

“O Lakshmana, I remember these flowers, for I gathered them in the forest and gave them to Vaidehi, with these she decorated her hair. Methinks the sun, the wind and the earth have preserved them for my pleasure.”

Thereafter Rama addressed the mountain of innumerable torrents, saying:—

“O Lord of the Hills, hast you seen that princess of lovely limbs, that gracious one I left in this charming grove?”

Thereupon, in tones of anguish he began to threaten that mountain, as a lion roars in the presence of a deer, and cried out:—“O Mountain, show me that lady whose skin resembles beaten gold or I will shatter your crests.”

Thus questioned by Rama concerning Sita, the Princess of Mithila, the mountain would fain have spoken but through fear of Ravana it remained silent; whereupon the son of Dasaratha addressed that rocky mass, saying:—

“My fiery arrows shall reduce you to ashes, you shalt be stripped of your verdure, your trees, and your creepers, and none shall inhabit you. O Lakshmana, this river too shall be dried up by me if it does not reveal where Sita may be found, whose radiance resembles the full moon in her course.”

In his wrath, Rama would fain have consumed the mountain with his glance, when suddenly he beheld the imprint of the titan’s foot on the ground and those of Vaidehi, who in her terror had run hither and thither before being dragged away by him.

Seeing the marks of Sita’s feet and those of the titan, with the shattered bow, two quivers and parts of the chariot, Rama, his heart beating rapidly, said to his beloved brother:—

“See, O Lakshmana, the scattered fragments of Vaidehi’s ornaments and the many garlands and the drops of blood shining like molten gold covering the earth on every side. It is certain, O Lakshmana, that the titans who change their form at will, have hewn the body of Sita to pieces, which they have now devoured. On account of Sita, a terrible struggle has taken place here, O Saumitri.

“This great bow, encrusted with pearls, marvellously inlaid, which is broken and lying on the earth, to whom can it belong, O Friend? To what titan or to what God, O My Child, does this golden armour belong, bright as the rising sun, enriched with emeralds and pearls, the pieces of which are strewn on the earth? Whose canopy is lying here, possessing a hundred staves, decorated with celestial garlands, its supports broken? And whose are these mules, harnessed with gold, having goblins’ heads, terrible to behold, that have been slain in the fight? This chariot of war, shining like a flame, which is overturned and broken, to whom does it belong? These arrows too, a hundred fingers in length, of terrifying aspect, their golden tips blunted, lying in a hundred fragments and the two quivers filled with excellent shafts, whose are they?

“See the charioteer lying on the earth, the lash and reins still in his hands, who was his master? Without doubt these footprints are those of a mighty titan, O Lakshmana. Behold how under a thousand guises the bitter hatred of these titans, who are ruthless and able to change their form at will, is made manifest! Alas, the blessed Vaidehi has been carried hence or she is dead and has been devoured! If virtue was not able to protect Vaidehi from being carried away by stealth in the great forest and she has been devoured, O Lakshmana, how can even the great ones of this world offer me any solace? The supreme Creator of the Universe Himself, were He to manifest compassion, would be misunderstood and held in contempt by the world, and I, who am by nature gentle, who have subdued my senses and who exercise mercy, desiring the welfare of all, shall be thought wanting in valour by the Gods.

“O Lakshmana, my virtues shall be overshadowed to-day, as you shalt soon witness, and my wrath be manifest in the destruction of the demons and all created beings! As the rising sun obscures the splendour of the moon, so will my great attributes be withdrawn and my naked splendour blaze forth; there will be no escape for any in the Three Worlds, neither Yaksha, Gandharva, Pisaca, Rakshasa, Kinnera, nor man, O Lakshmana. Soon shalt you see mine arrows filling the firmament, the planets stayed in their courses, the moon veiled, fire and wind restrained, the brightness of the sun obscured, the crests of the mountains shattered, the lakes dried up, creepers and trees uprooted and the ocean drained.

“If the Gods do not bring back Sita to me, I shall blot out the Three Worlds! Then, O Saumitri they will be forced to acknowledge my prowess! None shall find refuge anywhere in space, O Lakshmana; to-day you shalt see the universe pass beyond its bournes. With the help of the arrows loosed from my bow, which I shall stretch up to mine ear, no being will be able to survive; for Sita’s sake I shall rid the world of goblins and demons and the Gods shall witness the power of these missiles, loosed in my wrath.

“The worlds of the Gods, Giants, Yakshas and Titans will be annihilated under the impact of my shafts. With mine arrows I shall shatter the defences of the Three Worlds, if the Gods do not restore Vaidehi to me as she was before she was borne away. If they do not bring back my beloved unharmed, I shall lay waste the entire universe and all contained therein. Until I find myself in Sita’s presence once more, I shall let loose every weapon of destruction.”

Having spoken thus, Rama, his eyes flashing with anger, his lips compressed and trembling, tied fast his robe of bark and deerskin and knotted his hair, whereupon that sagacious One resembled Rudra bent upon the destruction of Tripura.

Taking his bow from Lakshmana’s hands, he drew it with might, selecting a terrible steel-pointed shaft resembling a venomous serpent, and the effulgent Rama, filled with wrath, the Scourge of his Foes, resembling the Fire at the destruction of the world, said:—

“As beings cannot escape old age, destiny or death, so is none able to restrain my wrath! O Lakshmana, if I do not recover Sita this day in all her pristine beauty, I shall destroy the universe with its Gods, Gandharvas, human beings, Punnagas and mountains.”