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Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CANTO XIV. JtAMA SUMMONED. The wicked queen her speech renewed, When rolling on the earth -she viewed Ikshvaku's son, Ayodhya's king, For his dear Rama sorrowing: ' Why, by a simple promise bound, Liest theu prostrate on the ground, As though a grievous sin dismayed Thy spirit? Why so sore afraid? Keep still thy word. The righteous deem That truth, mid d1rties, is supreme; And now in truth and honour's name I bid thee own the binding claim. Saivya, a king whom earth obeyed, Once to a hawk a promise made, Gave to the bird his flesh and bone, And by his truth made heaven his own,1 Alarka, when a Brahman famed For Scripture lore his promise claimed, Tore from his head his bleeding eyes And unreluctant gave the prize. His narrow bounds prescribed restrain The Rivers' Lord, the mighty main, Who, though his waters boil and rave, Keeps faithful to the word he gave. Truth all religion comprehends, Through all the world its might extends: 1 See Additional Notes, The Suppliant Dove. In truth alone is justice placed, On truth the words of God are based: A life in truth unchanging past Will bring the highest bliss at last. If thou the right would still pursue, Be constant to thy word and true: Let me thy promise fruitful see, For boons, 0 Kiug, proceed from thee. Now to preserve thy righteous fame, And yielding to my earnest claim? Thrice I repeat it?send thy child, Thy Rama, to the forest wild. But if the boon thou still deny, Before thy face, forlorn, I die.' Thus was the helpless monarch stung By Queen Kaikeyi's fearless tongue, As Bali strove in vain to loose His limbs from Indra's fatal noose. Dismayed in soul and pale with fear, The monarch, like a trembling steer Between the chariots wheel and yoke, Again to Queen Kaikeyi spoke, With sad eyes fixt in vacant stare, G...