SECTION LVII.
Hearing his accents faltering through grief, the leaders of monkey-herds, alarmed by his action,[181] did not repose confidence in his speech. Seated for the purpose of fasting to death, the monkeys, seeing the vulture, with terror thought within themselves,—"He shall eat us all up. If he eat us up, who have sat down to fast to death, we shall secure success, and speedily attain our end." Then those monkey-chiefs resolved thus. And descending from the summit of the mountain, Angada spoke unto the vulture,—"There was a lord of monkeys named Rhiksharāja, endowed with prowess. That king, O bird, was my grandsire. He had two virtuous sons, exceedingly powerful both—Vāli and Sugriva. My father, Vāli, was famed in the world for his deeds. And it came to pass that mighty monarch of all this earth, descendant of the Ikshwākus, the great and graceful car-warrior, Rāma, son unto Daçaratha, intent upon the injunction of his sire, resorting to the path of righteousness, entered the woods of Dandaka in company with his brother, Lakshmana and his wife Vaidehi. And his spouse was forcibly carried away from Janasthāna. And the friend of Rāma's father, the king of vultures, named Jatāyu, saw Videha's daughter, Sitā, as she was being carried away in the sky. And after having thrown down Rāvana from his car, and placed Maithili on the ground, (that vulture) old and overcome with fatigue was (at length) slain by Rāvana in battle. Thus slain by the powerful Rāvana, the vulture, having had his funereal obsequies performed by Rāma (himself), hath attained excellent state. Then Rāghava made friends with my uncle, the high-souled Sugriva; and he also slew my sire. My father had debarred Sugriva from the kingdom along with his counsellors; but Rāma, having slain Vāli, installed him (Sugriva). And established in the monarchy by him (Rāma), Sugriva is (now) the master of the monkeys and king of all the foremost monkeys. By him have we been sent. Despatched hither by Rāma, we have searched for Sitā all round, but Vaidehi we have not found, as one doth not find the solar splendour at night. And it came to pass that, having heedfully explored the Dandaka forest, we through ignorance entered a cave lying open before. That cave, thou must know, was constructed by the illusive energy of Maya. And there we spent a month—the term which had been fixed by the monarch. Doing the behests of the king of monkeys, we, having over-stayed the term which had been appointed, have from fear sat here down for the purpose of fasting unto death. On that Kākutstha being wrought up with wrath, as well as Sugriva together with Lakshmana, we, repairing thither, shall lose our lives."