Page:The Rámáyana of Tulsi Dás.djvu/465

Rh friend; relieve me then from my grievous distress.' Repeat to him, friend, the story of Indra's son, and remind my lord of the might of his arrows. If he does not come within a month, he will never find me alive. Tell me, monkey, how can I keep myself alive; for you now, my son, speak of going, and it is only the sight of you that has given me any comfort: henceforth day and night will seem to me both alike."

He did everything he could to console Síta and inspire her with confidence, and then bowed his head at her lotus feet and set forth to rejoin Ráma.

As he went, he roared aloud with such a terrible noise that the wives of the demons, who heard it, were overtaken by premature childbirth. Crossing the sea with a bound, he arrived on this side and uttered a cry of joy for the monkeys to hear. At the sight of Hanumán, they were as delighted as if they had been given a new spell of life. "Your face is so glad and your whole body so radiant that you cannot but have accomplished Ráma's commission." All greeted him with as much delight as an expiring fish feels when it gets back into the water; and they set out with joy to rejoin Ráma, talking as they went of all that had lately occurred. When they had reached the Madhu-ban, with Angad's consent they began eating the luscious fruit; the watchman tried to stop them, but were beaten off with fisticuffs. They then fled,

erying out that the prince had laid waste the garden. Sugríva rejoiced at the news: "The monkey must have returned after successfully completing his master's business.

If they had not got news of Síta, they would never have eaten the fruit of the Madhu-ban." While the king was thus reasoning within himself, Hanumán and his party arrived. They at once bowed the head at his feet, and he received them with all possible cordiality and asked of their welfare. "It is well with us now that we have seen your feet. By Ráma's favour the business has turned out excellently. Hanumán has accomplished his lord's purpose and has saved the life of us all." On hearing this, Sugríva again embraced him and then went on with the monkeys to where Ráma was. When Ráma saw them