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The Forty-First Chapter
179
Then Rama asked a man, "O noble one! What is the cause of this great fear?" ||13||
In reply, the man said, "For the past three days, at night, a sound has been rising from the peak of this mountain." ||14||
This sound, which we have never heard before, echoes everywhere and is extremely terrifying. Whose sound is it? Even the most learned elders do not know. ||15||
The entire earth seems to tremble because of this sound, the ten directions seem to make a sound, the lakes seem to wander here and there, and the trees seem to be uprooted. ||16||
This loud sound, comparable to the roar of hell, has shattered the ears of all beings as if they were struck by iron bars. ||17||
It seems that some wicked person, intent on killing us, is playing around at night. ||18||
Frightened by this sound, these people flee at the beginning of the night and return at dawn. ||19||
After walking a little more than a yojana from here, the sound becomes so faint that people can hear each other's conversations and find some relief. ||20||
Hearing this, Sita said to Rama and Lakshmana, "Let us also go where all these people are going." ||21||
Wise men, knowing the time and place, act with courage, and therefore never face any calamity. ||22||
Laughing, Rama and Lakshmana said to the worried Janaka's daughter, "You are very afraid, so go where these people are going." ||23||
"Fearlessly, we will search for you both with these people at dawn, near the foot of this mountain." ||24||
"On this beautiful mountain, whose sound is this extremely terrifying sound? We will see it today," they decided. ||25||
These poor people, filled with anxiety for their children and accompanied by animals, will be terrified. Who can help them? ||26||
Then, with a voice trembling as if she had a fever, Sita said, "Your stubbornness is always like the grip of a crab, which is unique. Who is capable of killing this crab-like affliction of mine?" ||27||