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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
[OCTOBER, 1893.
upon a mango tree which grew there. A ghost (prétá) lived in that tree, and one day he appeared to the poet, thanked him for the daily draught of water, and told him to ask a boon. Tal'sî asked to be shown the Lord Rama with his attendants. The ghost replied, I have no power to show you Râma, but I can show you how to get to see him. In a certain temple the story of the Ramayana is being recited. There you will find a very poor miserable looking man, who comes before every one else to hear the reading, and goes away last of all. That is Hanuman. Go to him privately, fall at his feet, and make known your petition to him. If he be willing, he will show you Râma.'35 Tul'sî Dâs went home, bathed and worshipped, and then went and sat where the reading was to go on. Sure enough, as the ghost had said, a wretched looking man came first of all and stayed till the very end. When he went away, Tul'si followed him, and when they got to a lonely place, fell at his feet, calling him Hanumân and making known his petition. Hanuman said: Go thou to Chitrakuta and there wilt thou be vouchsafed a sight of Rama Chandra.' With these words he disappeared.
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Tul'sî Dâs started for Chitrakuta with his heart full of love and joy; stayed there a few days to visit the various holy places, and then, one day, took a walk outside the city, where all of a sudden he came upon a Rám Lilá, or dramatic representation of the history of Rama. The scene which was being acted was the Conquest of Lanka, including the giving of the kingdom to Vibhishana, and the return to Ayodhyâ. There were Râma, Lakshmana, Sitâ, Hanumân, and all their friends. When Tal'si Dâs had finished looking on he turned to go home, and met a Brahman, who was no other than Hanuman in disguise. Sir,' said Tul'si Dâs, this is a very excellent Rám Lila. The Brahman said, 'Are you mad, talking of Rám Lilás at this time of year? Here they only take place in Aévin and Kârtik (October and November). This is not the season for the Rám Lilá.' Tul'si Dâs, feeling annoyed at the brusque answer which he received, replied, 'No, Sir, I have just seen one with my own eyes, come along, and I will show it to you.' He took the Brahman back to the scene of the Lila, but, when they got there, there was nothing visible. Tul'si asked all the people about, 'Where is the Ram Lila I saw just now going on here? Where have the actors gone to? Did not you see it ?' Everyone said, 'Who would see a Lilá at this season?' Then Tal'si remembered what Hanuman had said to him at Banaras, and recognized that what he had thought was a Lila was really a vision of the actual heroes of the drama. Full of shame at not having recognized his Lord and done honour to him, be went home weeping, and refused to eat. At night, when he had gone to rest, Hanuman came to him in a dream, and said to him Tul'si, regret not. In this Kali Yuga, even gods get no opportunity of seeing Râma. Blessed art thou among men, that he hath shown himself to thee. Now abandon sorrow, and adore him more.' Comforted by these words, the holy man returned to Banâras, and spent his days adoring his Master. It was on his way home on this occasion, that he met his wife as already recorded.
As Tul'si Das was going home one dark night in Banaras, he was set upon by robbers, who rushed at him crying 'már, már.' He did not attempt to protect himself, but stood his ground fearlessly, saying:
Básara dhasani ké dhaka Dalata dayánidhi dekhiyé
rajani chahun disi chôrá kapi kisari kisóra ||
36
35 The ghost was a wicked man who had died under the tree just outside Bandras. He had thus not gone to Heaven, but had been saved, by propinquity to the holy place, from going to hell. He was accordingly settled in the mango tree. The story goes that after his interview with Tul'st Dâs, he was allowed entrance into the city, and thereby obtained salvation.
36 Compare Dohabali 239, in which the second half line runs,
'Sankara nija pura rakhiye
chitai sulichana kóra,'
O Siva, protect thine own city (Bandras), with a glance (literally margin) of thy propitious eye.' Biva had three eyes; two were propitious, and the third turned to ashes him on whom its glance fell (e. g., Kamadeva. Cf. Rám. Ba., ch. 87, 6, taba siwa tisara nayana ughard). I am indebted to Pandit Sudhakar Dvived! for this explanation of this difficult verse of which I have seen several attempted translations. The sixty-year cycle of Jupiter is divided into three periods of 20 years each, sacred to Brahms, to Vishnu and to Siva, respectively. The last score or 'Rudravisi,' commenced in Tal'sî Dâs's time about V. 8. 1655 (1508 A. D.), just when the Musalmins commenced to oppress
