Book VIII: [Aṁtaḥpuravilāpo]
[Lamentations in the Palace]
tatasturaṁgāvacaraḥ sa durmanāstathā vanaṁ bhartari nirmame gate |
cakāra yatnaṁ pathi śokavigrahe tathāpi caivāśru na tasya cikṣipe || 8.1
1. Meanwhile the attendant of the horse, in deep distress, when his unselfish master thus went into the forest, made every effort in the road to dissolve
yamekarātreṇa tu bharturājñayā jagāma mārgaṁ saha tena vājinā |
iyāya bharturvirahaṁ viciṁtayaṁstameva paṁthānamahobhiraṣṭabhiḥ || 8.2
2. But the road which by his lord’s command he had traversed in one night with that horse, — that same road he now travelled in eight days, pondering his lord’s absence.
hayaśca saujasvi cacāra kaṁthakastatāma bhāvena babhūva nirmadaḥ |
alaṁkṛtaścāpi tathaiva bhūṣaṇairabhūdgataśrīriva tena varjitaḥ || 8.3
3. And the horse Kaṁthaka, though he still went on bravely, flagged and had lost all spirit in his heart; and decked though he was with ornaments, he had lost all his beauty when bereft of his master.
nivṛtya caivābhimukhastapovanaṁ bhṛśaṁ jiheṣe karuṇaṁ muhurmuhuḥ |
kṣudhānvito 'pyadhvani śaṣpamaṁbu vā yathā purā nābhinanaṁda nādade || 8.4
4. And turning round towards that ascetic-grove, he neighed repeatedly with a mournful sound; and though pressed with hunger, he welcomed not nor tasted any grass or water on the road, as before. I read
tato vihīnaṁ kapilāhvayaṁ puraṁ mahātmanā tena jagaddhitātmanā |
krameṇa tau śūnyamivopajagmaturdivākareṇeva vinākṛtaṁ nabhaḥ || 8.5
5. Slowly they two at last came back to the city called after Kapila, which seemed empty when deserted by that hero who was bent on the salvation of the world, — like the sky bereft of the sun.
sapuṁḍarīkairapi śobhitaṁ jalairalaṁkṛtaṁ puṣpadharairnagairapi |
tadeva tasyopavanaṁ vanopamaṁ gatapraharṣairna rarāja nāgaraiḥ || 8.6
6. Bright as it was with lotus-covered waters, adorned also with trees full of flowers, that garden of his, which was now like a forest, was no longer gay with citizens who had lost all their gladness.
tato bhramadbhirdiśi dīnamānasairanujjvalairvāṣpahatekṣaṇairnaraiḥ |
nivāryamāṇāviva tāvubhau puraṁ śanairajaḥsnātamivābhijagmatuḥ || 8.7
7. Then those two, — who were as it were silently forbidden by the sad inhabitants who were wandering in that direction, their brightness gone and their eyes dim with tears, — slowly entered the city which seemed all bathed in gloom.
niśamya ca srastaśarīragāminau vināgatau śākyakularṣabheṇa tau |
mumoca vāṣpaṁ pathi nāgaro janaḥ purā rathe dāśaratherivāgate || 8.8
8. Having heard that they had returned with their limbs all relaxed, coming back without the pride of the Śākya race, the men of the city shed tears in the road, as when in old days the chariot of the son of Daśaratha came back.
atha bruvaṁtaḥ samupetamanyavo janāḥ pathi cchaṁdakamāgatāśravaḥ |
kva rājaputraḥ kularāṣṭravardhano hṛtastvayāsāviti pṛṣṭhato 'nvayuḥ || 8.9
9. Full of wrath, the people followed Chaṁdaka in the road, crying behind him with tears, ‘Where is the king’s son, the glory of his race and kingdom? he has been stolen away by thee.’
tataḥ sa tān bhaktimato 'bravījjanānnareṁdraputraṁ na parityajāmyaham |
rudannahaṁ tena tu nirjane vane gṛhasthaveśaśca visarjitāviti || 8.10
10. Then he said to those faithful ones, I have not left the king’s son; but by him in the uninhabited forest I weeping and the dress of a householder were abandoned together.’
idaṁ vacastasya niśamya te janāḥ suduṣkaraṁ khalviti niścayaṁ yayuḥ |
patadvijahruḥ salilaṁ na netrajaṁ mano niniṁduśca phalārthamātmanaḥ || 8.11
11. Having heard these words of his those crowds adopted a most difficult resolve; they did not wipe away the tears which fell from their eyes, and they blamed their own (evil) hearts on account of the consequences of their actions;
athocuradyaiva viśāma tadvanaṁ gataḥ sa yatra dviparājavikramaḥ |
jijīviṣā nāsti hi tena no vinā yatheṁdriyāṇāṁ vigame śarīriṇām || 8.12
12. Then they said, ‘Let us go this very day into that forest, whither he is gone, whose gait is like the king of elephants; without him we have no wish to live, like the senses when the souls depart.
idaṁ puraṁ tena vivarjitaṁ vanaṁ vanaṁ ca tattena samanvitaṁ puram |
na śobhate tena hi no vinā puraṁ marutvatā vṛtravadhe yathā divam || 8.13
13. ‘This city bereft of him is a forest, and that forest which possesses him is a city; the city without him has no charms for us, like heaven without the lord of the Maruts, when Vṛtra was slain.’ Quoted by Ujjvaladatta, on Uṇādi-sūtras I, 156.
punaḥ kumāro vinivṛtta ityathau gavākṣamālāḥ pratipedire 'ṁganāḥ |
viviktapṛṣṭhaṁ ca niśamya vājinaṁ punargavākṣāṇi pidhāya cukruśuḥ || 8.14
14. Next the women crowded to the rows of windows, crying to one another, ‘The prince has returned;’ but having heard that his horse had an empty back, they closed the windows again and wailed aloud.
praviṣṭadīkṣastu sutopalabdhaye vratena śokena ca khinnamānasaḥ |
jajāpa devāyatane narādhipaścakāra tāstāśca yathāśrayāḥ kriyāḥ || 8.15
15. But the king, having undertaken religious observances for the recovery of his son, with his mind distressed by the vow and the sorrow, was muttering prayers in the temple, and performing such rites as suited the occasion.
tataḥ sa vāṣpapratipūrṇalocanasturaṁgamādāya turaṁgamānasaḥ | 8.16
viveśa śokābhihato nṛpālayaṁ kṣayaṁ vinīte ripuṇeva bhartari ||
16. Then with his eyes filled with tears, — taking the horse, his whole soul fixed on the horse, — overcome with grief he Sc. Chaṁdaka. entered the palace as if his master had been killed by an enemy.
vigāhamānaśca nareṁdramaṁdiraṁ vilokayannaśruvahena cakṣuṣā |
svareṇa puṣṭena rurāva kaṁthako janāya duḥkhaṁ prativedayanniva || 8.17
17. And entering the royal stable, looking about with his eyes full of tears, Kaṁthaka uttered a loud sound, as if he were uttering his woe to the people.
tataḥ khagāśca kṣayamadhyagocarāḥ samīpabaddhāsturagāśca satkṛtāḥ |
hayasya tasya pratisasvanuḥ svanaṁ nareṁdrasūnorupayānaśaṁkitāḥ || 8.18
18. Then the birds that fed in the middle of the house, and the carefully cherished horses that were tied near by, re-echoed the sound of that horse, thinking that it might be the return of the prince.
janāśca harṣātiśayena vaṁcitā janādhipāṁtaḥpurasaṁnikarṣagāḥ |
yathā hayaḥ kaṁthaka eṣa heṣate dhruvaṁ kumāro viśatīti menire || 8.19
19. And the people, deceived by an excessive joy, who were in the neighbourhood of the king’s inner apartments, thought in their hearts, ‘Since the horse Kaṁthaka neighs, it must be that the prince is coming.’
atipraharṣādatha śokamūrchitāḥ kumārasaṁdarśanalolalocanāḥ |
gṛhādviniścakramurāśayā striyaḥ śaratpayodādiva vidyutaścalāḥ || 8.20
20. Then the women, who were fainting with sorrow, now in wild joy, with their eyes rolling to see the prince, rushed out of the palace full of hope, like flickering lightnings from an autumn cloud.
vilaṁbaveśyo malināṁśukāṁbarā niraṁjanairvāṣpahatekṣaṇairmukhaiḥ |
kṛṣṇā vivarṇāṁjanayā vinākṛtā divīva tārā rajanīkṣayāruṇāḥ || 8.21
21. With their dress hanging down, and their linen garments soiled, their faces untouched by collyrium and with eyes dimmed by tears; dark and discoloured and destitute of all painting, Is
araktatāmraiścaraṇairanūpurairakuṁḍalairārjavakarṇikairmukhaiḥ |
svabhāvapīnairjaghanairamekhalairahārayoktrairmuṣitairiva stanaiḥ || 8.22
22. With their feet unstained by red, and undecked by anklets, — their faces without earrings, and their ears in their native simplicity, — their loins with only nature’s fulness, and uncircled by any girdle, — and their bosoms bare of strings of pearls as if they had been robbed.
nirīkṣitā vāṣpaparītalocanaṁ nirāśrayaṁ chaṁdakamaśvameva ca |
vivarṇavaktrā rurudurvarāṁganā vanāṁtare gāva ivarṣabhojjhitāḥ || 8.23
23. But when they saw Chaṁdaka standing helpless, his eyes filled with tears, and the horse, the noble women wept with pale faces, like cows abandoned by the bull in the midst of the forest.
tataḥ savāṣpā mahiṣī mahīpateḥ pranaṣṭavatsā mahiṣīva vatsalā |
pragṛhya bāhū nipapāta gautamī vilolaparṇā kadalīva kāṁcanī || 8.24
24. Then the king’s principal queen Gautamī, like a fond cow that has lost her calf, fell bursting into tears on the ground with outstretched arms, like a golden plantain-tree with trembling leaves.
hatatviṣo 'nyāḥ śithilātmabāhavaḥ striyo viṣādena vicetanā iva |
na cukruśurnāśru jahurna śaśvasurna cetanā ullikhitā iva sthitāḥ || 8.25
25. Some of the other women, bereft of their brightness and with arms and souls lifeless, and seeming to have lost their senses in their despondency, raised no cry, shed no tear, and breathed not, standing senseless as if painted. Conjectural.
adhīramanyāḥ patiśokamūrchitā vilocanaprasravaṇairmukhaiḥ striyaḥ |
siṣiṁcire proṣitacaṁdanān stanān dharādharaḥ prasravaṇairivopalān || 8.26
26. Others as having lost all self-control, fainting in their sorrow for their lord, their faces pouring tears from their eyes, watered their bosoms from which all sandal-wood was banished, like a mountain the rocks with its streams.
mukhaiśca tāsāṁ nayanāṁbutāḍitaiḥ rarāja tadrājaniveśanaṁ tadā |
navāṁbukāle 'ṁbudavṛṣṭitāḍitaiḥ sravajjalaistāmarasairyathā saraḥ || 8.27
27. Then that royal palace was illumined with their faces pelted by the tears from their eyes, as a lake in the time of the first rains with its dripping lotuses pelted by the rain from the clouds.
suvṛttapīnāṁgulibhirniraṁtarairabhūṣaṇairgūḍhaśirairvarāṁganāḥ |
urāṁsi jaghnuḥ kamalopamaiḥ karaiḥ svapallavairvātacalā latā iva || 8.28
28. The noble women beat their breasts with their lotus-like hands, falling incessantly, whose fingers were round and plump, which had their arteries hidden and bore no ornaments, — as creepers tossed by the wind strike themselves with their shoots.
karaprahārapracalaiśca tā babhuryathāpi nāryaḥ sahitonnataiḥ stanaiḥ |
vanānilāghūrṇitapadmakaṁpitaiḥ rathāṁganāmnāṁ mithunairivāpagāḥ || 8.29
29. And again how those women shine forth, as their bosoms rose up together after the blow from the hand, and trembled with the shock, like the streams, when their pairs of ruddy geese shake, as the lotuses on which they sit wave about with the wind from the wood. This is an obscure verse,
yathā ca vakṣāṁsi karairapīḍayaṁstathaiva vakṣobhirapīḍayan karān |
akārayaṁstatra parasparaṁ vyathāḥ karāgravakṣāṁsyabalā dayālasāḥ || 8.30
30. As they pressed their breasts with their hands, so too they pressed their hands with their breasts, — dull to all feelings of pity, they made their hands and bosoms inflict mutual pains on each other.
tatastu roṣapraviraktalocanā viṣādasaṁbaṁdhakaṣāyagadgadam |
uvāca niḥśvāsacalatpayodharā vigādhaśokāśrudharā yaśodharā || 8.31
31. Then thus spoke Yaśodharā, shedding tears with deep Is
niśi prasuptāmavaśāṁ vihāya māṁ gataḥ kva sa cchaṁdaka manmanorathaḥ |
upāgate ca tvayi kaṁthake ca me samaṁ gateṣu triṣu kaṁpate manaḥ || 8.32
32. ‘Leaving me helplessly asleep in the night, whither, O Chaṁdaka, is he, the desire of my heart, gone? and when thou and Kaṁthaka are alone come back, while three went away together, my mind trembles.
anāryamasnidghamamitrakarma me nṛśaṁsa kṛtvā kimihādya rodiṣi |
niyaccha vāṣpaṁ bhava tuṣṭamānaso na saṁvadatyaśru ca tacca karma te || 8.33
33. ‘Why dost thou weep to-day, O cruel one, having done a dishonourable, pitiless, and unfriendly deed to me? Cease thy tears and be content in thy heart, — tears and that deed of thine ill agree.
priyeṇa vaśyena hitena sādhunā tvayā sahāyena yathārthakāriṇā |
gato 'ryaputro hyapunarnivṛttaye ramasva diṣṭyā saphalaḥ śramastava || 8.34
34. ‘Through thee, his dear obedient faithful loyal companion, always doing what was right, the son of my lord is gone never to return, — rejoice, — all hail! thy pains have gained their end.
varaṁ manuṣyasya vicakṣaṇo ripurna mitramaprājñamayogapeśalam |
suhṛdbruveṇa hyavipaścitā tvayā kṛtaḥ kulasyāsya mahānupaplavaḥ || 8.35
35. ‘Better for a man a wise enemy rather than a foolish friend unskilled in emergencies; by thee, the unwise self-styled friend, a great calamity has been brought upon this family.
imā hi śocyā vyavamuktabhūṣaṇāḥ prasaktavāṣpāvilaraktalocanāḥ |
sthite 'pi patyau himavanmahīsame pranaṣṭaśobhā vidhavā iva striyaḥ || 8.36
36. ‘These women are sorely to be pitied who have put away their ornaments, having their eyes red and dimmed with continuous tears, who are as it were desolate widows, though their lord still stands as unshaken as the earth or Mount Himavat.
imāśca vikṣiptaviṭaṁkabāhavaḥ prasaktapārāvatadīrghanisvanāḥ |
vinākṛtāstena sahaiva rodhanairbhṛśaṁ rudaṁtīva vimānapaṁktayaḥ || 8.37
37. ‘And these lines of palaces seem to weep aloud, flinging up their dovecots for arms, with the long unbroken moan of their doves, — separated verily, with him, from all who could restrain them.
anarthakāmo 'sya janasya sarvathā turaṁgamo 'pi dhruvameṣa kaṁthakaḥ |
jahāra sarvasvamitastathā hi me jane prasupte niśi ratnacauravat || 8.38
38. ‘Even that horse Kaṁthaka without doubt desired my utter ruin; for he bore away from hence my treasure when all were sound asleep in the night, — like one who steals jewels.
yadā samarthaḥ khalu soḍhumāgatāniṣuprahārānapi kiṁ punaḥ kaśāḥ |
gataḥ kaśāpātabhayāt kathaṁ tvayaṁ śriyaṁ gṛhītvā hṛdayaṁ ca me samam || 8.39
39. ‘When he was able to bear even the onsets of arrows, and still more the strokes of whips, — how then for fear of the fall of a whip, could he go carrying with him my prosperity and my heart together?
anāryakarmā bhṛśamadya heṣate nareṁdradhiṣṇyaṁ pratipūrayanniva |
yadā tu nirvāhayati sma me priyaṁ tadā hi mūkasturagādhamo 'bhavat || 8.40
40. ‘The base creature now neighs loudly, filling the king’s palace with the sound; but when he carried away my beloved, then this vilest of horses was dumb.
yadi hyaheṣiṣyata bodhayañjanaṁ khuraiḥ kṣitau vāpyakariṣyata dhvanim |
hanusvanaṁ vājanayiṣyaduttamaṁ na cābhaviṣyanmama duḥkhamīdṛśam || 8.41
41. ‘If he had neighed and so woke up the people, or had even made a noise with his hoofs on the ground, or had made the loudest sound he could with his jaws, my grief would not have been so great.’
itīha devyāḥ paridevitāśrayaṁ niśamya vāṣpagrathitākṣaraṁ vacaḥ |
adhomukhaḥ sāśrukalaḥ kṛtāṁjaliḥ śanairidaṁ chaṁdaka uttaraṁ jagau || 8.42
42. Having thus heard the queen’s words, their syllables choked with tears and full of lament, slowly Chaṁdaka uttered this answer, with his face bent down, his voice low with tears, and his hands clasped in supplication:
vigarhituṁ nārhasi devi kaṁthakaṁ na cāpi roṣaṁ mayi kartumarhasi |
anāgasau svaḥ samavehi sarvaśo gato nṛdevaḥ sa hi devi devavat || 8.43
43. ‘Surely, O queen, thou wilt not blame Kaṁthaka nor wilt thou show thy anger against me, know that we two are entirely guiltless, — that god amongst men, O queen, is gone away like a god.
ahaṁ hi jānannapi rājaśāsanaṁ balātkṛtaḥ kairapi daivatairiva |
upānayaṁ tūrṇamimaṁ turaṁgamaṁ tathānvagacchaṁ vigataśramo 'dhvani || 8.44
44. ‘I indeed, though I well knew the king’s command, as though dragged by force by some divine powers, brought quickly to him this swift steed, and followed him on the road unwearied.
vrajannayaṁ vājivaro 'pi nāspṛśanmahīṁ khurāgrairvidhṛtairivāṁtarā |
tathaiva daivādiva saṁyatānano hanusvanaṁ nākṛta nāpyaheṣata || 8.45
45. ‘And this best of horses as he went along touched not the ground with the tips of his hoofs as if they were kept aloft from it; and so too, having his mouth restrained as by fate, he made no sound with his jaws and neighed not.
yadā vahirgacchati pārthivātmajastadābhavaddvāramapāvṛtaṁ svayam |
tamaśca naiśaṁ raviṇeva pāṭitaṁ tato 'pi daivo vidhireṣa gṛhyatām || 8.46
46. ‘When the prince went out, then the gate was thrown open of its own accord; and the darkness of the night was, as it were, pierced by the sun, — we may learn from hence too that this was the ordering of fate.
yadāpramatto 'pi nareṁdraśāsanādgṛhe pure caiva sahasraśo janaḥ |
tadā sa nābudhyata nidrayā hṛtastato 'pi daivo vidhireṣa gṛhyatām || 8.47
47. ‘When also by the king’s command, in palace and city, diligent guards had been placed by thousands, and at that time they were all overcome by sleep and woke not, — we may learn from hence too that this was the ordering of fate.
yataśca vāso vanavāsasaṁmataṁ visṛṣṭamasmai samaye divaukasā |
divi praviddhaṁ mukuṭaṁ ca taddhṛtaṁ tato 'pi daivo vidhireṣa gṛhyatām || 8.48
48. ‘When also the garment, approved for a hermit’s dwelling in the forest, was offered to him at the moment by some denizen of heaven, and the tiara which he threw into the sky was carried off, — we may learn from hence too that this was the ordering of fate.
tadevamāvāṁ naradevi doṣato na tatprayātaṁ pratigaṁtumarhasi |
na kāmakāro mama nāsya vājinaḥ kṛtānuyātraḥ sa hi daivatairgataḥ || 8.49
49. ‘Do not therefore assume Should we read
iti prayāṇaṁ bahudhaivamadbhutaṁ niśamya tāstasya mahātmanaḥ striyaḥ |
pranaṣṭaśokā iva vismayaṁ yayurmanojvaraṁ pravrajanāttu lebhire || 8.50
50. Having thus heard the history of the prince’s departure, so marvellous in many ways, those women, as though losing their grief, were filled with wonder, but they again took up their distress at the thought of his becoming an ascetic.
viṣādapāriplavalocanā tataḥ pranaṣṭapotā kurarīva duḥkhitā |
vihāya dhairyaṁ virurāva gautamī tatāma caivāśrumukhī jagāda ca || 8.51
51. With her eyes filled with the tears of despondency, wretched like an osprey who has lost her young, — Gautamī abandoning all self-control wailed aloud, — she fainted, and with a weeping face exclaimed:
mahormimaṁto mṛdavo 'sitāḥ śubhāḥ pṛthakpṛthagmūlaruhāḥ samudgatāḥ |
praceritāste bhuvi tasya mūrdhajā nareṁdramaulīpariveṣṭanakṣamāḥ || 8.52
52. ‘Beautiful, soft, black, and all in great waves, growing each from its own special root, — those hairs of his are tossed on the ground, worthy to be encircled by a royal diadem.
pralaṁbabāhurmṛgarājavikramo mahārṣabhākṣaḥ kanakojjvaladyutiḥ |
viśālavakṣā ghanaduṁdubhisvanastathāvidho 'pyāśramavāsamarhati || 8.53
53. ‘With his long arms and lion-gait, his bull-like eye, and his beauty bright like gold, his broad chest, and his voice deep as a drum or a cloud, should such a hero as this dwell in a hermitage?
abhāginī nūnamiyaṁ vasuṁdharā tamāryakarmāṇamanuttamaṁ prati |
gatastato 'sau guṇavān hi tādṛśo nṛpaḥ prajābhāgyaguṇaiḥ prasūyate || 8.54
54. ‘This earth is indeed unworthy as regards that peerless doer of noble actions, for such a virtuous hero has gone away from her, — it is the merits and virtues of the subjects which produce their king.
sujātajālāvatatāṁgulī mṛdū nigūḍhagulphau viṣapuṣpakomalau |
vanāṁtabhūmiṁ kaṭhināṁ kathaṁ nu tau sacakramadhyau caraṇau gamiṣyataḥ || 8.55
55. ‘Those two feet of his, tender, with their beautiful web spread between the toes, with their ankles concealed, and soft like a blue lotus, — how can they, bearing a wheel marked in the middle, walk on the hard ground of the skirts of the forest?
vimānapṛṣṭhe śayanāsanocitaṁ mahārhavastrāgurucaṁdanārcitam |
kathaṁ nu śītoṣṇajalāgameṣu taccharīramojasvi vane bhaviṣyati || 8.56
56. ‘That body, which deserves to sit or lie on the roof of a palace, — honoured with costly garments, aloes, and sandal-wood, — how will that manly body live in the woods, exposed to the attacks of the cold, the heat, and the rain?
kulena sattvena balena varcasā śrutena lakṣmyā vayasā ca garvitaḥ |
pradātumevābhyudito na yācituṁ kathaṁ sa bhikṣāṁ parataścariṣyati || 8.57
57. ‘He who was proud of his family, goodness, strength, energy, sacred learning, beauty, and youth, — who was ever ready to give, not to ask, — how will he go about begging alms from others?
śucau śayitvā śayane hiraṇmaye prabodhyamāno niśi tūryanisvanaiḥ |
kathaṁ vata svapsyati so 'dya me vratī paṭaukadeśāṁtarite mahītale || 8.58
58. ‘He who, lying on a spotless golden bed, was awakened during the night by the concert of musical instruments, — how alas! will he, my ascetic, sleep to-day on the bare ground with only one rag of cloth interposed?’
imaṁ vilāpaṁ karuṇaṁ niśamya tā bhujaiḥ pariṣvajya parasparaṁ striyaḥ |
vilocanebhyaḥ salilāni tatyajurmadhūni puṣpebhya iveritā latāḥ || 8.59
59. Having heard this piteous lamentation, the women, embracing one another with their arms, rained the tears from their eyes, as the shaken creepers drop honey from their flowers.
tato dharāyāmapatadyaśodharā vicakravākeva rathāṁgasāhvayā |
śanaiśca tattadvilalāpa viklavā muhurmuhurgadgadaruddhayā girā || 8.60
60. Then Yaśodharā fell upon the ground, like the ruddy goose parted from her mate, and in utter bewilderment she slowly lamented, with her voice repeatedly stopped by sobs:
sa māmanāthāṁ sahadharmacāriṇīmapāsya dharmaṁ yadi kartumicchati |
kuto 'sya dharmaḥ sahadharmacāriṇīṁ vinā tapo yaḥ paribhoktumicchati || 8.61
61. ‘If he wishes to practise a religious life after abandoning me his lawful wife widowed, — where is his religion, who wishes to follow penance without his lawful wife to share it with him?
śṛṇoti nūnaṁ sa na pūrvapārthivān mahāsudarśaprabhṛtīn pitāmahān |
vanāni patnīsahitānupeyuṣastathā sa dharmaṁ madṛte cikīrṣati || 8.62
62. ‘He surely has never heard of the monarchs of olden times, his own ancestors, Mahāsudarśa
makheṣu vā vedavidhānasaṁskṛtau na daṁpatī paśyati dīkṣitāvubhau |
samaṁ bubhukṣū parato 'pi tatphalaṁ tato 'sya jāto mayi dharmamatsaraḥ || 8.63
63. ‘He does not see that husband and wife are both consecrated in sacrifices, and both purified by the performance of the rites of the Veda, and both destined to enjoy I read
dhruvaṁ sa jānan mama dharmavallabho manaḥ priye 'pyākalahaṁ muhurmithaḥ |
sukhaṁ vibhīrmāmapahāya rosaṇāṁ maheṁdraloke 'psaraso jighṛkṣati || 8.64
64. ‘Surely it must be that this fond lover of religion, knowing that my mind was secretly quarrelling even with my beloved, lightly and without fear has deserted me thus angry, in the hope to obtain heavenly nymphs in lndra’s world!
iyaṁ tu ciṁtā mama kīdṛśaṁ nu tā vapurguṇaṁ bibhrati tatra yoṣitaḥ |
vane yadarthaṁ sa tapāṁsi tapyate śriyaṁ ca hitvā mama bhaktimeva ca || 8.65
65. ‘But what kind of a thought is this of mine? those women even there have the attributes which belong to bodies, — for whose sake he thus practises austerities in the forest, deserting his royal magnificence and my fond devotion.
na khalviyaṁ svargasukhāya me spṛhā na tajjanasyātmavato 'pi durlabham |
sa tu priyo māmiha vā paratra vā kathaṁ na jahyāditi me manorathaḥ || 8.66
66. ‘I have no such longing for the joy of heaven, nor is that hard for even common people to win if they are resolute;
abhāginī yadyahamāyatekṣaṇaṁ śucismitaṁ bharturudīkṣituṁ mukham |
na maṁdabhāgyo 'rhati rāhulo 'pyayaṁ kadācidaṁke parivartituṁ pituḥ || 8.67
67. ‘Even if I am unworthy to look on my husbands face with its long eyes and bright smile, still is this poor Rāhula never to roll about in his father’s lap?
aho nṛśaṁsaṁ sukumāravarcasaḥ sudāruṇaṁ tasya manasvino manaḥ |
kalapralāpaṁ dviṣato 'pi harṣaṇaṁ śiśuṁ sutaṁ yastyajatīdṛśaṁ svataḥ || 8.68
68. ‘Alas! the mind of that wise hero is terribly stern, — gentle as his beauty seems, it is pitilessly cruel, — who can desert of his own accord such an infant son with his inarticulate talk, one who would charm even an enemy.
mamāpi kāmaṁ hṛdayaṁ sudāruṇaṁ śilāmayaṁ vāpyayasāpi vā kṛtam |
anāthavacchrīrahite sukhocite vanaṁ gate bhartari yanna dīryate || 8.69
69. ‘My heart too is certainly most stern, yea, made of rock or fashioned even of iron, which does not break when its lord is gone to the forest, deserted by his royal glory like an orphan, — he so well worthy of happiness.’
itīha devī patiśokamūrchitā ruroda dadhyau vilalāpa cāsakṛt |
svabhāvadhīrāpi hi sā satī śucā dhṛtiṁ na sasmāra cakāra no hriyam || 8.70
70. So the queen, fainting in her woe, wept and pondered and wailed aloud repeatedly, — self-possessed as she was by nature, yet in her distress she remembered not her fortitude and felt no shame.
tatastathā śokavilāpaviklavāṁ yaśodharāṁ prekṣya vasuṁdharāgatām |
mahāraviṁdairiva vṛṣṭitāḍitairmukhaiḥ savāṣpairvanitā vicukruśuḥ || 8.71
71. Seeing Yaśodharā thus bewildered with her wild utterances of grief and fallen on the ground, all the women cried out with their faces streaming with tears like large lotuses beaten by the rain.
samāptajāpyaḥ kṛtahomamaṁgalo nṛpastu devāyatanādviniryayau |
janasya tenārttaraveṇa cāhataścacāla vajradhvanineva vāraṇaḥ || 8.72
72. But the king, having ended his prayers, and performed the auspicious rites of the sacrifice, now came out of the temple; and being smitten by the wailing sound of the people, he tottered like an elephant at the crash of a thunderbolt.
niśāmya ca cchaṁdakakaṁthakāvubhau sutasya saṁśrutya ca niścayaṁ sthiram |
papāta śokābhihato mahīpatiḥ śacīpatervṛtta ivotsave dhvajaḥ || 8.73
73. Having heard (of the arrival) of both Chaṁdaka and Kaṁthaka, and having learned the fixed resolve of his son, the lord of the earth fell struck down by sorrow like the banner of Indra when the festival is over. Cf. I, 63.
tato muhūrtaṁ sutaśokamohito janena tulyābhijanena dhāritaḥ |
nirīkṣya dṛṣṭyā jalapūrṇayā hayaṁ mahītalastho vilalāpa pārthivaḥ || 8.74
74. Then the king, distracted by his grief for his son, being held up for a moment by his attendants all of the same race, gazed on the horse with his eyes filled with tears, and then falling on the ground wailed aloud:
bahūni kṛtvā samare priyāṇi me mahattvayā kaṁthaka vipriyaṁ kṛtam |
guṇapriyo yena vane sa me priyaḥ priyo 'pi sannapriyavat praceritaḥ || 8.75
75. ‘After having done many dear exploits for me in battle, one great deed of cruelty, O Kaṁthaka, hast thou done, — for by thee that dear son of mine, dear for his every virtue, has been tossed down in the wood, dear as he was, like a worthless thing.
tadadya māṁ vā naya tatra yatra sa vraja drutaṁ vā punarenamānaya |
ṛte hi tasmānmama nāsti jīvitaṁ vigāḍharogasya sadauṣadhādiva || 8.76
76. ‘Therefore either lead me to-day where he is, or go quickly and bring him back again; without him there is no life left to me, as to one plunged in sickness without the true medicine.
suvarṇaniṣṭhīvini mṛtyunā hṛte suduṣkaraṁ yanna mamāra sṛṁjayaḥ |
ahaṁ punardharmaratau sute gate 'mumukṣurātmānamanātmavāniva || 8.77
77. ‘When Suvarṇaniṣṭhīvin was carried away by death, it seemed impossible that Sṛṁjaya See Mahābh XII, 31. The MSS. read
vibhordaśakṣatrakṛtaḥ prajāpateḥ parāparajñasya vivasvadātmanaḥ |
priyeṇa putreṇa satā vinākṛtaṁ kathaṁ na muhyeddhi mano manorapi || 8.78
78. ‘How should not the mind of Manu himself be distracted, when parted from his dear virtuous son, Does this refer to his loosing his son Sudyumna, who was changed to a woman, Viṣṇu Pur, IV, I? — (Manu) the son of Vivasvat, who knew the higher and the lower, the mighty lord of creatures, the institutor of the ten chieftains.
ajasya rājñastanayāya dhīmate narādhipāyeṁdrasakhāya me spṛhā |
gate vanaṁ yastanaye divaṁ gato na moghavāṣpaḥ kṛpaṇaṁ jijīva ha || 8.79
79. ‘I envy the monarch, that friend of Indra, the wise son of king Aja, Daśaratha. who, when his son went into the forest, went himself to heaven, and dragged out no miserable life here with vain tears.
pracakṣva me bhadra tadāśramājiraṁ hṛtastvayā yatra sa me jalāṁjaliḥ |
ime parīpsaṁti hi te pipāsavo mamāsavaḥ pretagatiṁ yiyāsavaḥ || 8.80
80. ‘Describe to me, O beloved one, the court of that hermitage, whither thou hast carried him who is as my funeral oblation of water; these my vital airs are all ready to depart, and are eager for it, longing to drink it.’
iti tanayaviyogajātaduḥkhaṁ kṣitisadṛśaṁ sahajaṁ vihāya dhairyam |
daśaratha iva rāmaśokavaśyo bahu vilalāpa nṛpo visaṁjñakalpaḥ || 8.81
81. Thus the king, in his grief for his separation from his son, — losing all his innate firmness which was stedfast like the earth, — loudly lamented as one distraught, like Daśaratha, a prey to his sorrow for Rāma.
śrutavinayaguṇānvitastatastaṁ matisacivaḥ pravayāḥ purohitaśca |
avadhṛtamidamūcaturyathāvanna ca paritaptamukhau na cāpyaśokau || 8.82
82. Then the wise counsellor, endued with religious learning, courtesy, and virtue, and the old family priest, spoke to him as was befitting in these well-weighed words, neither with their faces overwhelmed by grief nor yet wholly unmoved:
tyaja naravara śokamehi dhairyaṁ kudhṛtirivārhasi dhīra nāśru moktum |
srajamiva mṛditāmapāsya lakṣmīṁ bhuvi bahavo hi nṛpā vanānyatīyuḥ || 8.83
83. ‘Cease, O noblest of men, thy grief, regain thy firmness, — surely thou wilt not, O firm hero, shed tears like one of no self-control; many kings on this earth have gone into the forests, throwing away their royal pomp like a crushed wreath.
api ca niyata eṣa tasya bhāvaḥ smara vacanaṁ tadṛṣeḥ purāsitasya |
na hi sa divi na cakravartirājye kṣaṇamapi vāsayituṁ sukhena śakyaḥ || 8.84
84. ‘Moreover, this his state of mind was all predetermined; remember those words long ago of the holy sage Asita; "He will never be made to dwell even for a moment contentedly in heaven or in an emperor’s domain."
yadi tu nṛvara kārya eva yatnastvaritamudāhara yāvadatra yāvaḥ |
bahuvidhamiha yuddhamastu tāvattava tanayasya vidheśca tasya tasya || 8.85
85. ‘But if, O best of men, the effort must be made, quickly speak the word, we two will at once go together; let the battle be waged in every way with thy son and his fate whatever it be.’
narapatiratha tau śaśāsa tasmāddrutamita eva yuvāmabhiprayātam |
na hi mama hṛdayaṁ prayāti śāṁtiṁ vanaśakuneriva putralālasasya || 8.86
86. Then the king commanded them both, ‘Do you both go quickly hence, — my heart will not return to quiet, any more than a bird’s in the woods longing for its young.’
paramamiti nareṁdraśāsanāttau yayaturamātyapurohitau vanaṁ tat |
kṛtamiti savadhūjanaḥ sadāro nṛpatirapi pracakāra śeṣakāryam || 8.87
87. With a prompt acquiescence at the king’s order the counsellor and the family priest went to that forest; and then with his wives and his queen the king also, saying, ‘It is done,’ performed the remainder of the rites.
iti śrībuddhacarite mahākāvye 'ṁtaḥpuravilāpo nāmāṣṭamaḥ sargaḥ || 8 ||
[Such is the eighth chapter in the great poem Śri Buddhacarita,
called Lamentations in the Palace]
Book VIII: [Aṁtaḥpuravilāpo]
[Lamentations in the Palace]