||Sundarakanda ||
|| Sarga 11||(Summary in English)
||om tat sat||
अवधूताय च तां बुद्धिं बभूवास्थित तदा।
जगाम चापरां चिंतां सीतां प्रति महाकपिः॥1||
स॥ महाकपिः तां बुद्धिं अवधूय अवस्थितः बभूव। सीतां प्रति अपरं चिंतां जगाम॥
The great Vanara having rejected his judgement stood there. Then started thinking about Sita again.
Sundarakanda
Sarga 11
The great Vanara having rejected his judgement that sleeping Mandodari he saw is Sita, stood there for some time. Then started thinking about Sita again.
Sita, the lovely lady separated from Rama will not sleep. She cannot eat, decorate herself or drink. She will not approach another man even if it is the Lord among the Gods. There is none equal to Rama even among Gods. Having decided that she is somebody else Hanuman started moving about in the banquet hall.
In that Banquet hall Hanuman saw many women. There are women exhausted by sporting. There are some other women exhausted by singing. Some were exhausted by dancing. Some others worn out due to drinking. Yet others were resting on Murajas, Tabors in hassocks. Some others were resting on exquisite beds. The best among Vanaras saw thousands of women adorned with ornaments who are good at arguments who are well versed in appreciation, who were well aware of the time and place, who are good at appropriate expressions, and were sleeping after dalliance.
In the midst of these women the king of Rakshasas with powerful arms shone like a bull among the cows in a big cowshed. Surrounded by these women the king of Rakshasas shone like a great elephant among the female elephants in a big forest.
The tiger among the Vanaras then saw a banquet hall in the palace of the king of Rakshasas which is provided with everything. There in that banquet hall apportioned meat of deer, buffaloes and pigs was placed. The tiger among the Vanaras saw large golden vessels with half eaten peacocks as well as chicken. Hanuman observed bones marinated with yogurt and special salt , meat of pigs and jungle fowls as well as deer and peacocks. He saw a variety of cooked fowls half eaten ruddy geese , buffaloes, fishes, goats and all sorts of food that can be licked and variety of drinks. The banquet hall, filled with food seasoned with salt and sour ingredients, with many types of syrups, with discarded heavy chains, anklets and shoulder straps, with drinks spilt from glasses, with many fruits and flowers, looked very splendid.
The banquet hall with well-arranged beds and seats here and there was glowing even without fire. The Banquet hall was filled with variety of meat arranged in many ways seasoned with many types of ingredients, cooked by experts. Wonderful and pleasing wines extracted from sugarcane , honey and flowers though fermented were made delicious with spices. Arranged in variety of ways with garlands, vessels made of gold and crystals, the jars spread all over , the floor looked splendid. The Vanara saw abundant of the best of wines kept in silver and golden vessels. The great Vanara saw filled wine vessels made of made of gold inlaid with gems also and of silver too.
There he saw some half-filled, some fully drained and some not even touched drinks. In one place many types of eatables, at another place drinks separately , yet at another place left over food was seen as he moved about. At one place he saw a broken pots at another place rolling pots and yet at another place mixed up flower garlands strewn about along with water and fruits.
There Hanuman saw some women's beds unused, some women were sleeping having embraced another woman. Some overcome with sleep pulled the clothes from some other sleeping women and slept. The clothes on their bodies as well as the garlands moved gently by the wind created by their exhalations. There wind carried the fragrances of cool sandal, of sweet smelling wines of different types, of flower garlands of different types, of incenses of different types. Then on the Pushpaka chariot the fragrance of cool sandal used after bath, fragrance of incense as well as sweet smelling wines wafted through. There in the mansion of Rakshasas there were other Rakshasa women of glowing dark complexion as well as lovely women dark in color as well as some of golden complexion. Overcome with sleep and exhausted due to dalliance , the women who were sleeping looked like lotus creepers.
The brilliant Vanara saw all this in the inner apartments of Ravana .
He did not see Janaki.
Then the great Vanara while seeing the women thinking that he transgressed the moral code started thinking with a concern. 'Seeing the sleeping wives of other men is very much a transgression of moral code by me. I have seen others wives , but seeing wives of others is not with sensual mind'.
The highly sensible Vanara was struck with another brilliant idea that he is single minded in the direction of the task ahead. 'All the loyal wives of Ravana were seen without any foul desire. My mind is not perturbed even a little. At all times for good and bad the sense organs are controlled by the mind. My mind is firmly established. It is not possible to search for Vaidehi any other way. Women can be looked for among women only. One has to search for a creature among its own species. It is not possible to find a lost woman in the herd of female deer. This Ravana's harem was searched with pure mind by me , but I have not seen Janaki'.
He saw daughters of Devas, Gandharvas. Nagas but the valiant Hanuman did not find Janaki. The valiant Vanara unable of see her among other women , moved aside and started thinking.
Illustrious Maruti once again renewed his effort in search of Sita, leaving the banquet hall.
||Thus ends Sarga 11 of Sundarakanda in Valmiki Ramayana the first ever poem written.||
||om tat sat||
सभूयस्तु परं श्रीमान् मारुतिर्यत्न मास्थितः।
अपानभूमि मुत्सृज्य तद्विचेतुं प्रचक्रमे॥47||
स॥ श्रीमान् सः मारुतिः आपानभूमिं उत्सृज्य भूयःतु परं यत्नं आस्थितः तत् विचेतुं उपचक्रमे॥
Illustrious Maruti leaving the banquet hall once again renewed his effort in search of Sita.
||om tat sat||