Author Description

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: SECTION XVI. OuMANTRA, well versed in legends, after passing by the gateways crowded with people, reached the solitary apartment (of Rama), having youthful warders, carrying darts and hows wearing ear-rings, cautious, attentive and devoted, and saw (seated at the gate) several old men, commanding female warders, mindful of duty, wearing red cloths and excellent ornaments, and having rattans in their hands. They all seeing Sumantra, ever wishing good unto Rama, approach, rose suddenly up from their seats with due respect. The humble- minded charioteer then said to them:?Go and speedily communicate unto Rama that Sumantra is waiting at the gate. At this the warders, desirous of doing good unto their master, nearing Rama, speedily comunicated these words unto him who was in the company of his wife. Rama hearing of the arrival of his father's charioteer, ordered him to enter into the apartment, having his father's pleasure in view. He (on entering) saw Rama resembling Vaisravana, well adorned and seated on a gold sofa, with a beautiful coverlet on; having his body sprinkled with holy and fragrant sandal of the best kind, red as the blood of a hog; and having by him Sitd with a chowri in her hand, like Moon himself in the company of Chitra. Whereupon Sumantra, acquainted with decorum, humbly saluted him (Rama), the conferrer of great boons, and resplendent like the mid-day sun; and he well honored by the king, seeing the king's son seated on the sleeping sofa with a delighted countenance, spoke these words unto him with clasped hands:?Oh, Rama, great son of Kaucalya, thy father and the queen Kaikeyi want to see thee; so it be- hoveth thee to go there without delay. Being pleased with these words the mighty hero of great effulgence, honored his father's behest and spoke un...