Setubandha

SR No.: 001384
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Krishnakant Handiqui
Publisher: Prakrit Text Society Ahmedabad
Publication Year: 1976
Total Pages: 812
Language: English, Sanskrit
Classification: Book_English & Literature
File Size: 14 MB

Page 279

118
SETUBANDHA 86. 'A sequel of this sort to what one fears in respect of another, out of affection for him, even in a brief separation, hath-become manifest in my case alone.'
87. Thereupon Trijatā25 raised Sītā's face with her hands, and consoled her with sweet words as she lay worn out with mourning, with a vacant stare void of all feeling.
88. 'Unthinking sorrow, undiscerning simplicity, and love do not see the truth; and the foolish mind of a young woman apprehends danger to the sun even from darkness.
89. 'Knowing thy consort to be the primal foundation of the universe, one that assumed the responsibility (of protecting the world), when it was abandoned by the helpless Indra,26 why dost thou judge him to be on a par with other men?
90. 'How canst thou believe that the earth could hold Rāma's severed and fallen head, without being overturned, and without the waters of the different oceans mingling together, or, with the mountains standing unharmed ?27.
91. 'In the event of Rāma's death, how could Rāvana's palace garden be thus shorn of its beauty, with the branches of the trees broken by the wind, and the day lotus blossoms closing in contact with the rays of the moon ?28
92. Weep not. Wipe thy tears away. On thy consort's lap wilt thou weep again, remembering the pangs of separation, and embracing him with thy face leaning on his shoulders.
93. 'Soon wilt thou see Rāma happy with his bow unstrung, and serene and free from wrath, with his face worn and pallid on account of separation from thee.
94. 'Believe me. Had it been Rāma's head, the cutting of which could not be imagined even by Siva, it would have burst in a rage,
25. A Rākşasa woman friendly to Sitā. 26. i.e., on account of his defeat by the demons.
27. i.e., had Rāma died, unprecedented convulsions of nature would have heralded his death.
28. i.e., the wind and the moon dare interfere with the beauty of Ravana's garden, because Rāma is alive, and allows the forces of nature to function undisturbed.