Accosted thus by Rāma, Lakshmana, well versed in speech, spoke unto him the following humble words. "Be afraid of thy power, O hero, Bharata shall adore Kauçalyā and Sumitrā—there is no doubt about this. If that wicked Bharata obtaining this excellent kingdom, does not maintain and take care of them, being impelled by haughtiness and wicked impulses, surely shall I kill him, that wicked-minded one, though he be assisted by the entire population of the three regions. Besides, that worshipful Kauçalyā, who has made grants of many thousand villages unto her servants, can maintain thousands of people like us, and has enough to maintain herself as well as my mother. Do thou therefore permit me to follow thee; there will be no breach of virtue in this,and I shall have my desires attained and thy interests shall be secured. I shall go before thee pointing out thy course, with stringed bows, a hoe, and a basket in my hands. I shall bring for thee every day various roots and fruits and other things that grow in the forest and which the ascetics use in their sacrifice. Thou shalt amuse thyself with Vaidehi on the sides of the hill, and I shall perform everything for thee whether thou art asleep or awake."
Being extremely gratified with these words, Rāma spoke unto him, saying,—"Do thou follow me, O son of Sumitrā, obtaining permission from all thy relatives. The high-souled Varuna himself offered two terrible-looking bows of etherial temper, two sets of weapons at the great sacrifice of the royal Janaka—namely, impenetrable mail, two quivers, two inexhaustible arrows, and two swords burnished with gold and bright as the Sun. These things were offered unto me as bridal presents, and I have kept them at the house of my preceptor. Do thou, O Lakshmana, paying homage unto my preceptor, taking all those weapons, swiftly bring them hither. Determined upon going unto the forest, Lakshmana, taking leave of his friends, went to the abode of the spiritual preceptor of the Ikshwākus and took from him those excellent weapons. And that best of princes, the son of Sumitrā, showed Rāma those heavenly arms—worshipped and well adorned with garlands. Seeing Lakshmana arrive there, Rāma, having control over his ownself, greatly pleased, spoke unto him the following words. "Thou hast arrived, O Lakshmana, just when I wanted thee. I want to distribute with thee these my riches amongst the Brāhmauas and the ascetics. There are many excellent Brāhmanas having firm reverence in their preceptor. I want to distribute my wealth amongst them and many other personages who depend upon me for their maintenance. Bring here speedily the worshipful Sujajna, the son of Vasishtha; I want to repair unto the forest after duly adoring him and other excellent Brāhmanas."
SECTION XXXII.
Receiving this pleasant and beneficial mandate of his brother, Lakshmana speedily went unto the abode of Sujajna, and finding that Vipra in the chamber where the sacrificial fire was maintained, worshipped him and addressed him, saying; "Friend, come and behold the abode of that one of arduous deeds (Rāma) renouncing his incoming installation." Finishing his prayers, Sujajna accompanied Lakshmana and arrived at the splendid mansion of Rāma, filled with riches. No sooner Rāma found that Brāhmana versed in the Veda (Sujajna) arrive there, shining in effulgence like unto the blazing fire, than he rose up from his seat along with Sitā, with clasped hands, and received him as if he had been the sacrificial fire itself, and offered him excellent golden Angadas, shining ear-rings, necklaces of jewels fastened together with golden strings, Keyuras, bracelets, and various other ornaments, and spoke unto him, being desired by Sitā, the following words. "O my gentle friend! do thou by some servant send unto thy wife this necklace and Hemasutra. And Sitā, the friend of thy wife, also intends to give this Rasanā unto thy wife, And on the eve of her going to the woods, she presents thyself and thy wife with Angadas of curious workmanship and elegant Keyuras. And Vaidehi wishes to present thee with this fine bed-stead with its coverlet studed with various precious jewels. And I offer thee, O great ascetic, with a thousand gold coins, this excellent elephant, called the destroyer of foes, which had been bestowed upon me by my maternal uncle."
Being addressed thus by Rāma, Sujajna accepted all those offers, and showered benedictions upon Rāma, Sitā, and Lakshmana. Thereupon Rāma spoke unto his beloved, considerate and fair-speaking brother, the son of Sumitrā the following pleasant words, like unto Brahmā addressing the Lord of celestials. "O son of Sumitrā, do thou invite the excellent Brāhmanas, Agastya and Viswāmitra, and adore them, O Rāghava, by conferring upon them gems, as people cherish corn with water. And O mighty armed one, do thou worship them, O Rāghava, with a thousand cows, gold, silver, and various precious jewels. Do thou confer upon that good Brāhmana, the preceptor of the Tittiriya portion of the Vedas, who crowns Kauçalyā with blessings every day, silk cloth, conveyances, maid-servants, and such other things, till the twice-born one is satisfied. Do thou propitiate the worshipful Chitraratha, who is our charioteer and counsellor and of advanced years, with precious jewels clothes, wealth, with all kinds of beasts and a thousand cows. Do thou confer upon those Brāhmanas, O son of Sumitrā, who live under my protection, studying the Kata section of Yayur Veda, with staffs in their hands, a grant of eighty mules loaded with jewels, of a thousand miles of pines, and of a thousand cows, for curd and clarified butter. They are always inactive, being constantly engaged in Vedic studies, and are greatly slothful though having a taste for delicious food, and are always esteemed by great men; to each of all those Brāhmanas, who always come to Kauçalyā, do thou, O Lakshmāna,make a grant of a thousand gold coins, and offer unto them all such gifts as may please my mother." Thereupon Lakshmana, that best of men, distributed amongst all these Brāhmanas all the entire riches as ordered by Rāma like unto the Lord of wealth. Seeing his dependants in a wretched plight, shedding tears continually, Rāma proferred unto them various articles for their maintenance, and said :—"Do ye occupy in turn until our return my rooms as well as Lakshmana's." Having spoken thus unto all those dependants who were racked with great sorrow, Rāma ordered the Treasury officer to bring his riches there. Thereat, the servants brought all his riches and collected them in great heaps. Rāma, the best of men, together with Lakshmana, distributed them amongst the Brāhmanas, boys, the old, and the poor. There lived in that quarter a Brāhmana of a tawny colour, by name Trijatā, descended from the line of Garga, earning his livelihood by digging the earth with spades and ploughs. His young wife with her little children, struggling with poverty, spoke thus unto the old Brāhmana. "Throwing aside thy spades and ploughs, do thou hear my words. Go and see the virtuous-souled Rāma, and thou art sure to get something from him now." Hearing these words of his wife, Trijatā, shining in effulgence like unto Vrigu and Angira, covering his body with a torn piece of cloth, proceeded towards Rāma's abode with his wife, and going on in a speedy and uninterrupted course, reached at last the royal abode and spoke unto Rāma thus:—"O mighty son of the king! a poor man am I, having a number of children. I maintain my family by digging the earth; do thou therefore look upon me mercifully. Whereupon Rāma replied laughing:—"I have not distributed as yet even one thousand of my cows. Do thou hurl this rod, and thou art the master of all those cows occupying the space at the extremity of which this rod shall fall." Upon this, swiftly tightening the cloth around his waist, Trijatā firmly grasping the rod hurled it with a mighty force. The rod, hurled off his hands, fell on the other side of the river Saraju in the midst of many thousand bullocks. Seeing this, the virtuous-souled Rāma despatched to the hermitage of Trijatā all the cows that lay extending up to the banks of the river Saraju, and consoling him afterwards accosted him with the following words. "Be not offended, I acted thus only as a matter of joke. I asked thee to do this only with the object of knowing whether thou hadst the power to hurl this rod. Do thou ask of me now any thing thou likest. Truly do I speak that thou shouldst not hesitate. I am ready to devote my wealth to the services of the Brāhmanas. And the wealth I have earned will conduce to my favour, if. I can apply it to your service."
Then Trijata, being pleased with the accession of cows, went away along with his wife, showering happiness and joy. Rāma of great manliness afterwards distributed with proper respect and due welcome all his wealth amassed by righteous means amongst the Brāhmanas, friends, servants and the poor, according to the recomendation of his friends.
SECTION XXXIII.
Having distributed much wealth to the Brāhmanas, the Rāghavas set out with Sitā for the purpose of seeing their father. And the two looked beautiful with a couple of handmaids (following them), taking the weapons that had been decked by Sitā with flowery wreaths. Then crowds of elegantly-attired citizens, mounting on the terraces of three- storied and seven-storied houses, looked on the scene with hearts filled with sorrow. And unable to tread the streets because of a vast concourse, they ascending the terraces of the buildings, eyed Rāghava with woe-begone eyes. And deprived of their senses by grief, the multitudes,[135] beholding Rāma proceeding on foot in company with Sitā and his younger brother, said,—"He that used to be followed by the vast body of the four-fold forces, proceeds now along with Sitā, followed by Lakshmana alone. Knowing every kind of enjoyment, that magnanimous one who has tasted of every luxury, for maintaining the dignity of morality, does not wish to falsify (his father's) word. And that Sitā whom formerly the very rangers of the sky could not see, is to-day beheld by the passers-by. Now summer's heat and winter's cold and the rains of the wet season will speedily stain Sitā, whose person is worthy of being dyed, and who used to daub her limbs with red sandal paste. Surely to-day Daçarātha speaks thus, possessed by some evil spirit; for the king ought by no means to banish his beloved son. Who ever exiles his son, albeit he be worthless? And what is to be said concerning a son that has fast secured all men's hearts by his behavior? Universal benevolence, kindness, learning goodness, the restraint of the senses, and the control of the faculties,—these six qualities adorn that best of men, Rāghava. Therefore the subjects will be afflicted in consequence of his separation, even as aquatic animals are, when summer dries up the waters of a tank. The entire earth is distressed on account of the distress of this lord of the earth, even like a tree bearing blossoms and fruits, when its roots have been severed. Surely this highly effulgent one with virtue for his chief good, is the root of humanity, and the latter represents its flowers, fruits, foliage, and boughs. Therefore, accompanied by our wives and friends will we like Lakshmana follow the departing Rāghava by the same way that he takes. And leaving aside our gardens and fields and abodes, will we, making the righteous Rāma's happiness and misery our own, follow him. Let Kaikeyi possess herself of our deserted mansions, deprived of their buried treasures, with their unswept courtyards robbed of kine and wealth, and shorn of all substance, filled with dust, and abandoned by the deities, mansions where rats will run from hole to hole, which will neither emit smoke nor contain water, which will not be swept by broomsticks, from which sacrifices, and the slaughter of sacrificial beasts,and the offering of oblations and the recitation of sacred texts, and Yapa, will be absent, and around which will be strewn broken earthenware, as they are on occasions of political commotions or the occurrence of natural calamities. Let the forest to which Rāghava repairs resemble a city, and let this city renounced by us be converted into a wilderness. Inspired by the fear of us, serpents will leave their holes, and beasts and birds the caves of mountain, and elephants and lions the forest. Let them occupy the tracts left behind by us, and let them renounce such abounding in serpents, beasts, and birds, as yield grass, meat, and fruits. Let Kaikeyi (reign in this realm) along with her sons and adherents; we, renouncing homes, will dwell in the forest with Rāghava."
Rāghava heard various words uttered thus by the populace; and having heard them, he did not suffer his mind to be agitated. And that righteous one of the prowess of a mad elephant, from a distance began to make for the residence of his father resembling in brightness a summit of the Kailāça mountain. Entering the king's mansion, he drawing nigh found the heroic Sumantra seated in dejected mood. Seeing that well-wisher of his thus depressed, Rāma endeavouring by all means to do his father's bidding, cheerfully went on, desirous of beholding his sire. And with the view of meeting the aggrieved king before repairing to the forest, the magnanimous son of the Ikshwāku race, seeing Sumantra, stayed there,—so that that noble-minded one might inform his father of his visit. And making up his mind to go to the woods in accordance with the command of his father, Rāghava seeing Sumantra, said unto him; "Do you inform the king of my arrival."