Having been honored by her (Sita) in excellent words, the monkey
proceeding, left that place, thinking,--"A small work it is that
remains. Beheld have I this dark-eyed lady. Passing by three means, I
see that I shall have to resort to the fourth. No _treaty_ with Rakshas
can answer the end. Neither can _gifts_ prevail with the wealthy. Nor is
it possible to sow _dissensions_ among persons proud of their strength.
Then, display of _prowess_ appeareth to me applicable in this case.
Without resorting to prowess, way find I none for ensuring success in
this matter. If the Rakshas find their foremost heroes fallen in battle,
they may temper their (martial ardour). He that, having compassed his
(principal) purpose, accomplishes many more without marring the prime
one, is entitled to act He that doeth a small work is certainly not a
worker,--he it is that knoweth to bring about success in diverse ways,
is alone capable of securing the same.[366] Although my sole commission
was to effect this much,[367] yet if I repair to the abode of the lord
of monkeys after having ascertained the strength of our ownselves and
that of the foe in the field, then I shall have done the mandate of my
master. How can my arrival (at this place) be made to bring forth good
fruit? How can I forcibly bring on engagement with the Rakshasas? And
how can the Ten-necked one in battle be made to form a just estimate of
the respective strength of myself and his forces? Coming in contact with
the Ten-necked one, with his three orders, forces and charioteers, I
shall, reading the intention that is in his heart, as well as his
strength, --happily return from hence. This grove of the fell (fiend)
resembling Nandana itself, containing various trees and plants, and
captivating to eye and heart,--will I destroy; even as fire destroyeth a
dry wood. This grove being ravaged, Ravana shall get into a fury. Then
the Rakshasa monarch shall summon up an army consisting of horses,
elephants, and mighty cars, equipped with tridents, iron axes and other
arms,--, and mighty shall be the encounter that shall take place. And I
with unimpaired prowess battling with those terrific Rakshas, and
annihilating that host despatched by Ravana, shall merrily journey to
the abode of the monkey-king." Then furious like the Wind, the offspring
of the Wind-god possessed of dreadful prowess set about knocking down
the trees with impetuous violence. Then that hero, Hanuman, devastated
that garden of the damsels, resounding with the roars of mad elephants,
and filled with diverse trees and shrubs. And with its trees crushed and
its tanks damaged, with its fair peaks shattered in fragments and its
pools eloquent with the notes of birds, riven all over, with coppery and
withered sprays cast about (in all directions), and with its trees and
plants shorn of their liveliness,--that wood was no longer
beautiful,--as if it had been burnt up by a forest-fire; and its plants
resembled damsels with their apparel falling off. And that magnificent
wood, with its arbours and its picture-gallerys destroyed, and its
ferocious animals, beasts and birds crying in distressful accents,--and
its rocky structures and other mansions broken down, was bereft of its
loveliness. And that grove of the inner apartment belonging to the
damsels[368] of the Ten-necked one, with its numbers of _acoka_ trees
and plants cast about disorderly, was, in very sooth, through the might
of the monkey, rendered a sight composed of plants, _etc._, tending to
awaken the regret of the spectator.[369] Then having done what was
wondrous disagreeable unto the mind of the magnanimous lord of the
world, that monkey desirous of coping alone with a vast host, stood by
the main entrance, flaming in effulgence.
[366] The commentator explains this passage thus:--"He that by great
pains accomplishes a small work, cannot be a great actor; but he
that bringeth about his end in a variety of ways through the
_minimum_ of effort, is the actor."--T.
[367] _i. e._ see Sita.
[368] _Promadavanasya--gen._--occurs twice in this passage. The
commentator, as usual, refines on the word,--to one he assigns a
literal sense; another he explains--_of the grove belonging to the
protector of the females_,--i. e. the wood, which, by arousing
their desire for Ravana, assured their stay there!--T.
[369] There is a pun on the word _soka_--occuring twice. One of them,
originally _acoka_, but entering into a vowel combination with the
preceding word, is the name of a tree; and _Soka_ means _sorrow_.
The _acoka_ trees being shattered, inspired the onlooker with
_soka--sorrow_.--T.