Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa · Sarga 7.43
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7.43.1
तत्रोपविष्टं राजानमुपासन्ते विचक्षणाः ।
कथानां बहुरूपाणां हास्यकाराः समन्ततः ॥ ७.४३.१ ॥
There, the seated king was attended on all sides by clever men who made him laugh with stories of many kinds.
7.43.2
विजयो मधुमत्तश्च काश्यपो मङ्गलः कुटः ।
सुराजः कालियो भद्रो दन्तवक्रः सुमागधः ॥ ७.४३.२ ॥
Vijaya, Madhumatta, Kāśyapa, Maṅgala, Kuṭa, Surāja, Kāliya, Bhadra, Dantavakra and Sumāgadha.
7.43.3
एते कथा बहुविधाः परिहाससमन्विताः ।
कथयन्ति स्म संहृष्टा राघवस्य महात्मनः ॥ ७.४३.३ ॥
These men, delighted, would tell the great-souled Rāghava stories of many kinds, full of jest.
7.43.4
ततः कथायां कस्याञ्चिद्राघवः समभाषत ।
काः कथा नगरे भद्र वर्तन्ते विषयेषु च ॥ ७.४३.४ ॥
Then, in the midst of a story, Rāghava spoke: "Good sir, what stories are current in the city and in the provinces?"
7.43.5
मामाश्रितानि कान्याहुः पौरजानपदा जनाः ।
किं च सीतां समाश्रित्य भरतं किं च लक्ष्मणम् ॥ ७.४३.५ ॥
What do the city and country people say about me? What do they say about Sītā, about Bharata, and about Lakṣmaṇa?
7.43.6
किं नु शत्रुघ्नमुद्दिश्य कैकयीं किं नु मातरम् ।
वक्तव्यतां च राजानो वरे राज्ये व्रजन्ति च ॥ ७.४३.६ ॥
What is said about Śatrughna? What is said about mother Kaikeyī? What is said of kings concerning boons and the kingdom?
7.43.7
एवमुक्ते तु रामेण भद्रः प्राञ्जलिरब्रवीत् ।
स्थिताः कथा शुभाः राजन्वर्तन्ते पुरवासिनाम् ॥ ७.४३.७ ॥
When Rāma had spoken thus, Bhadra, with folded palms, said: O king, auspicious talk is going on among the city-dwellers.
7.43.8
अमुं तु विजयं सौम्य दशग्रीववधार्जितम् ।
भूयिष्ठं स्वपुरे पौरैः कथ्यन्ते पुरुषर्षभ ॥ ७.४३.८ ॥
O gentle one, that victory won by the slaying of Daśagrīva — the citizens tell it again and again in their own city, O best of men.
7.43.9
एवमुक्तस्तु भद्रेण राघवो वाक्यमब्रवीत् ।
कथयस्व यथातत्त्वं सर्वं निरवशेषतः ॥ ७.४३.९ ॥
When Bhadra had spoken thus, Rāghava said these words: Tell me exactly as it is, everything, without omission.
7.43.10
शुभाशुभानि वाक्यानि यान्याहुः पुरवासिनः ।
श्रुत्वेदानीं शुभं कुर्यां नकुर्यामशुभानि च ॥ ७.४३.१० ॥
Having now heard the good and bad words that the city-dwellers speak, I shall do what is good and shall not do what is bad.
7.43.11
कथयस्व च विस्रब्धो निर्भयं विगतज्वरः ।
कथयन्ति यथा पौराः पापा जनपदेषु च ॥ ७.४३.११ ॥
Speak freely, fearlessly, free of anxiety, just as the city-dwellers and the wicked in the countryside are saying it.
7.43.12
राघवेणैवमुक्तस्तु भद्रः सुरुचिरं वचः ।
प्रत्युवाच महाबाहुं प्राञ्जलिः सुसमाहितः ॥ ७.४३.१२ ॥
When Rāghava had spoken thus, Bhadra, with folded palms and fully attentive, replied to the mighty-armed one in very sweet words.
7.43.13
शृणु राजन्यथा पौराः कथयन्ति शुभाशुभम् ।
चत्वरापणरथ्यासु वनेषूपवनेषु च ॥ ७.४३.१३ ॥
Listen, O king, to how the city-folk speak of good and ill at the crossroads, in the markets and streets, in the forests and the groves.
7.43.14
दुष्करं कृतवान्रामः समुद्रे सेतुबन्धनम् ।
अश्रुतं पूर्वकैः कैश्चिद्देवैरपि सदानवैः ॥ ७.४३.१४ ॥
Rāma has accomplished the difficult feat of building a bridge across the ocean, a thing never heard of by the ancients, and not done even by the gods together with the demons.
7.43.15
रावणश्च दुराधर्षो हतः सबलवाहनः ।
वानराश्च वशं नीता ऋक्षाश्च सह राक्षसैः ॥ ७.४३.१५ ॥
The unassailable Rāvaṇa was slain together with his army and vehicles, and the monkeys and bears, together with the rākṣasas, were brought under control.
7.43.16
हत्वा च रावणं सङ्ख्ये सीतामाहृत्य राघवः ।
अमर्षं पृष्ठतः कृत्वा स्ववेश्म पुनरानयत् ॥ ७.४३.१६ ॥
Having slain Rāvaṇa in battle and brought back Sītā, Rāghava set resentment aside and took her back into his own house.
7.43.17
कीदृशं हृदये तस्य सीतासम्भोगजं सुखम् ।
अङ्कमारोप्य तु पुरा रावणेन बलाद्धृताम् ॥ ७.४३.१७ ॥
What kind of pleasure, arising from union with Sītā—whom Rāvaṇa once seized by force and carried off in his lap—must have stirred in his heart?
7.43.18
लङ्कामपि पुरा नीतामशोकवनिकां गताम् ।
रक्षसां वशमापन्नां कथं रामो न कुत्सते ॥ ७.४३.१८ ॥
Why does Rāma not reproach Sītā, who was once carried off to Laṅkā, dwelt in the Aśoka grove, and fell under the power of the rākṣasas?
7.43.19
अस्माकमपि दारेषु सहनीयं भविष्यति ।
यथा हि कुरुते राजा प्रजा तमनुवर्तते ॥ ७.४३.१९ ॥
Concerning our wives too, this will have to be endured. As the king acts, so the subjects follow him.
7.43.20
एवं बहुविधा वाचो वदन्ति पुरवासिनः ।
नगरेषु च सर्वेषु राजञ्जनपदेषु च ॥ ७.४३.२० ॥
Thus the city-dwellers speak many kinds of words, in all the towns and in the countryside too, O king.
7.43.21
तस्यैवं भाषितं श्रुत्वा राघवः परमार्तवत् ।
उवाच सुहृदः सर्वान्कथमेतद्ब्रवीथ माम् ॥ ७.४३.२१ ॥
Hearing these words of his, Rāghava, greatly distressed, said to all his friends: How can you speak this to me?
7.43.22
सर्वे तु शिरसा भूमावभिवाद्य प्रणम्य च ।
प्रत्यूचू राघवं दीनमेवमेतन्न संशयः ॥ ७.४३.२२ ॥
All of them, bowing with their heads to the ground and saluting, replied to the humbled Rāghava: It is so, there is no doubt.
7.43.23
श्रुत्वा तु वाक्यं काकुत्स्थः सर्वेषां समुदीरितम् ।
विसर्जयामास तदा वयस्याञ्छत्रुसूदनः ॥ ७.४३.२३ ॥
Having heard the words spoken by all, then Kākutstha, the destroyer of foes, dismissed his companions.