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The land was filled with the sound of bells tied around the necks of cows, adorned with various grains, vast and filled with villages and towns. ||40-41||
After that, the three, bearing beautiful forms, crossed a great distance and reached a vast place deserted by humans. ||42||
Sitting in the shade of a banyan tree, they rested and asked each other why this place appeared devoid of people. ||43||
Here, many ripe fields of grain are visible, these trees in the gardens are adorned with fruits and flowers. ||44||
Villages are situated on high ground, filled with ponds and sugarcane groves, lakes with unplucked lotuses are filled with various birds. ||45||
This path is filled with broken pots, carts, baskets, trash, kundikas, and mats. ||46||
Here, rice, black gram, green gram, and soup are scattered, and here this old bull lies dead, with a torn old sack on top of it. ||47||
This vast country does not appear beautiful without people, just as a person who has taken vows does not appear beautiful when he is attached to worldly things. ||48||
Then, sitting on a very soft, jeweled blanket, Rama, while discussing the desolation of the country, placed his bow nearby. ||49||
Sita, who was the embodiment of love and a reservoir of water, with hands as soft as the inner petals of a lotus, was ready to quickly give Rama rest, that is, to massage his feet. ||50||
Then, Lakshmana, who knew the proper order of things, with the permission of his elder brother, separated Sita, who was leaning against his thigh, and began to massage his feet himself. ||51||
Rama said to Lakshmana, "Brother, your wife is very tired, so quickly find a village, a town, or a settlement of cowherds." ||52||
Then Lakshmana climbed to the top of a large tree. Rama asked him, "Do you see anything here?" ||53||
Lakshmana said, "O Lord! I see mountains that resemble silver, high like autumn clouds, adorned with peaks." ||54||
1. Charu M.