Having spent a long time in that mountain, that lover of hills and
woods, Dacaratha's son resembling an immortal, anxious to pleasure
Vaidehi as well as to please his own mind, showed the variegated
Chitrakuta unto his wife, like Purandara unto Sachi. "O gentle one,
neither deprivation of the kingdom nor separation from friends afflicts
my mind on beholding this romantic mountain. My gentle one, look but at
the hill abounding with flocks of various birds, adorned with summits
cleaving the welkin and teeming with mineral substances. And some parts
of this monarch of mountains are like silver, and some are blood-red,
and some yellow like the hue of Manjistha, and some lustrous like
sapphires, and some shining like blossoms or crystal or Ketakas, and
some blazing like stars or mercury, and some dight in mineral
substances. And the mountain shines, being filled with divers beasts and
multitudes of innocuous tigers, hyenas and bears, and thronged with
innumerable birds. And overspread with mangos, rose-apples, and
_Asanas_, and Lodhras,[175] Piyalas, jacks, Ankolas, and Bhavyatinicas,
and Vilwas, and Tindukas, and bamboos, Kacmaris, Arishtas, and Varanas,
and Madhukas, sesames, and jujubes, and Amalakas, Nipas, canes,
Dhanwanas, and citrons--all in full flower, and bearing fruits,
umbrageous and charming,--the mountain attains an accession of
loveliness. And, thou gentle one, on the picturesque plateau of the hill
behold these intelligent couples of Kinnaras engaged in sport at spots
yeilding every enjoyment; and look at their swords hung up on the
boughs. And see the gorgeous apparel of Vidyadharis, as well as the
charming regions in which they sport. And like an elephant dropping the
temporal juice, this hill appeareth beautiful with cascades, fountains
and rillets, flowing here and there. Whom doth not the breeze laden with
the perfumes of many a flower, soothing the sense of smell, fill with
delight? If, O blameless one, I dwell (here) for many years with thee as
well as Lakshmana, grief cannot overcome me. O damsel, I take delight in
this picturesque peak abounding in flowers and fruits, and frequented by
various birds. By this banishment of mine, I have gained two things--my
father has maintained his truth in religion, and Bharata has obtained
his dear interest. O daughter of Videha, art thou being pleased on
viewing along with me on Chitrakuta, various objects grateful unto mind,
speech and body? O queen, this abode in the forest like unto ambrosia
hath been declared by those royal saints, my ancestors, as working out
one's emancipation after death. The giant crags of the mountain grace
the place all round by hundreds; many and various-hued, blue and yellow
aad pale and red. In the night, the annual herbs by thousands growing on
this foremost of hills, shine and become visible by their own lustre,
like flames of fire. And, O lady, some parts of the mountain appear like
dwellings, and some like gardens, and some, again, consist of single
rocks (capable of accommodating numbers of men). And Chitrakuta looks as
if it had arisen, riving the earth; and the fair front of Chitrakuta can
be perceived from every point. Behold the beds of pleasure-seekers,
consisting of the petals of lotuses, with _Sthagaras_, _Panagas_ and
_Bhuryapatras_ for their coverlets. And, my wife, behold these
lotus-garlands have been crushed and scattered; and the various fruits
have been partaken of. The mountain Chitrakuta abounding in fruits and
roots and waters, surpasses Kuvera's capital or Sakra's city or the
north Kurus. My wife, O Sita, if in consonance with my own excellent
rules, I can, remaining in the path of the pious, pleasantly pass this
time along with thyself and Lakshmana, then I shall attain the happiness
resulting from observing the duties of one's race."
[175] _Symplocos racemosa_.--T.