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He declined, and set out for the forest with an ami}' to brintr Rama back. ^\nien the brothers met there was a Ioulj contention. Rama refused to return until the term of his father's sentence was completed, and Bharata declined to ascend the throne. At length it was arranged that Bharata should return and act as his brother's vicegerent. As a sign of Rama's suj^remacy Bharata carried back with him a pair of Rama's shoes, and these were always brought out ceremoniously when business had to be transacted. Rama passed ten years of his banishment moving from one hermitage to another, and went at length to the hermitage of the sage Agastya, near the Yindhya mountains. This holy man recommended Rama to take up his abode at PanchavatI, on the river Godavari, and the party accordingly proceeded thither. This district was infested witli Rakshasas, and one of them named Siirpa-nakha, a sister of RavaTia, saw Rama and fell in love with him. He repelled her advances, and in her jealousy she attacked Sita. This so en- raged Lakshmawa that he cut off her ears and nose. She brought her brothers Khara and Diisharz-a with an army of Rakshasas to avenge her 'WTongs, but they were all destroyed. Smarting under her mutilation and with sjrretce injuria foi'mte, she repaired to her brother Rava/ia in Lanka, and inspired him by her descrij)- tion with a fierce passion for Sita. RavaTia proceeded to Rama's residence in an aerial car, and his accomplice Mariclia having lured Riima from home, Rava^a assumed the form of a religious mendicant and lulled Sita's apprehensions until he found an op- portunity to declare himself and carry her off by force to Lanka. Rama's despair and rage at the loss of his faithful wife were terrible. He and Lakshmawa went in pursuit and tracked the ravisher. On tlieir way they killed Kabandlia, a headless monster, whose disembodied spirit counselled Rama to seek the aid of Su-griva, king of the monkeys. The two brothers accord- ingly went on their way to Su-grlva, and after overcoming some RAMA. ' 259 obstacles and assisting Su-grlva to recover Kislikindhya, his capital, from his usurping brother Balin, they entered into a firm alliance with him. Through this connection Rama got the appellations of Kapi-prabhu and Kapi-ratha. He received not only the sui:)port of all the forces of Su-grlva and his allies, but the active aid of Hanuman, son of the wind, minister and general of Su-grlva. Hanuman's extraordinary powers of leap- ing and flying enabled him to do all the work of reconnoit- ring. By superhuman efforts their armies were transported to Ceylon by " Rama's bridge," and after many fiercely contested battles the city of Lanka was taken, Ravana was killed and Sita rescued. The recovery of his wife filled Rama with joy, but he was jealous of her honour, received her coldly, and refused to take her back. She asserted her purity in touching and dignified language, and determined to prove her innocence by the ordeal of fire. She entered the flames in the presence of men and gods, and Agni, god of fire, led her forth and placed her in Rama's arms unhurt. Rama then returned, taking with him his chief allies to Ayodhya. Re-united with his three brothers, he was solemnly crowned and began a glorious reign, Lakshma/ia being associated with him in the government. The sixth section of the Ramaya7ia here concludes ; the remainder of the story is told in the Uttara-kawc?a,. a subsequent addition. The treatment which Slta received in captivity was better than might have been expected at the hands of a Rakshasa. She had asserted and proved her purity, and Rama believed her ; but jealous thoughts would cross his sensitive mind, and when his subjects blamed him for taking back his wife, he resolved, although she was pregnant, to send her to spend the rest of her life at the hermi- tage of Yalmiki. There she was delivered of her twin sons Kusa and Lava, who bore upon their persons the marks of their high paternity. When they were about fifteen years old they wandered accidentally to Ayodhya and were recognised by their father, who acknowledged them, and recalled Sita to attest her innocence. She returned, and in a public assembly declared her purity, and called upon the earth to verify her words. It did so. The ground opened and received " the daughter of the furrow," and Rama lost his beloved and only wife. Unable to endure life without her, he resolved to follow, and the gods favoured his determination. Time appeared to him in the form of an ascetic 26o FAMA. and told him that he must stay on earth or ascend to heaven and rule over the gods. Lakshma?ia with devoted fraternal affection endeavoured to save his brother from what he deemed the baleful visit of Time. He incurred a sentence of death for his interference, and was conveyed bodily to Indra's heaven. Rama with great state and ceremony went to the river iSarayu, and walking into the water was hailed by Brahma's voice of wel- come from heaven, and entered "into the glory of Yislinu," The conclusion of the story as told in the version of the RamayaTia used by Mr. "Wlieeler differs materially. It repre- sents that Sita remained in exile until her sons were fifteen or sixteen years of age. Rama had resolved upon performing the Aswa-medha sacrifice ; the horse was turned loose, and ^S'atru- ghna followed it with an army. Kusa and Lava took the horse and defeated and wounded ^S'atru-ghna. Rama then sent LakshmaTza to recover the horse, but he was defeated and left for dead. Next Bharata was sent with Hanuman, but they were also defeated. Rama then set out himself to repair his reverses. AVhen the father and sons came into each other's presence, nature sjDoke out, and Rama acknowledged his sons. Sita also, after receiving an admonition from Yalmiki, agreed to forgive her husband. They returned to Ayodhya. Rama per- formed the Aswa-medha, and they passed the remainder of their lives in peace and joy. The incidents of the first six kaTZ^as of the Ramayawa supply the j)lot of Bhava-bhilti's drama Maha-vira-charita. The Uttara- kawf/a is the basis of his Uttara-rama-charita. This describes Rama's jealousy, the banishment of Sita, and the birth of her sons ; but the subsequent action is more human and affecting than in the poem. Rama repents of his unjust treatment of his wife, and goes forth to seek her. The course of his wanderings is depicted with great poetic beauty, and his meeting with his sons and his reconciliation with Sita are described with exquisite pathos and tenderness. The drama closes when " All conspires to make their happiness complete.'' The worship of Rama still holds its ground, particularly in Oude and Bihar, and he has numerous worshippers. " It is noteworthy," says Professor Williams, " that the Rilma legends have always retained their purity, and, unlike those of Brahma, EAMAYANA. 261 K?isli?za, /S'iva, and Durga, have never been mixed up with inde- cencies and licentiousness. In fact, the worship of Rama has never degenerated to the same extent as that of some of these other deities." This is true ; but it maybe observed that Rama and his wife were pure; there was nothing in their characters sug- gestive of license ; and if " the husband of one wife " and the devoted and aliectionate wife had come to be associated with impure ideas, they must have lost all that gave them a title to veneration. The name of Rama, as ' Ram ! Ram ! ' is a common form of salutation. RAMAYAiVA. ' The Adventures of Rama.' The oldest of the Sansk?"/t epic poems, written by the sage Valmiki. It is sup- posed to have been composed about five centuries B.C., and to have received its present form a century or two later. The MSS. of the Ramayawa vary greatly. There are two well-known distinct recensions, the Northern and the Bengal. The ISTorthern is the older and the purer ; the additions and alterations in that of Bengal are so numerous that it is not trustworth}^^, and has even been called "spurious." Later researches have shown that the variations in MSS. found in ditferent parts of India are so diverse that the versions can hardly be classed in a certain number of different recensions. Unfortunately the inferior edition is the one best known to Europeans. Carey and Marsh- man translated two books of it, and Signor Gorresio has given an Italian translation of the whole. Schlegel published a Latin translation of the first book of the I^orthern recension. The full texts of both these recensions have been printed, and Mr.