Today's Beautiful Gem: "Rama reminisces in Pushpaka" from
"Raghuvamasam" by Kaalidaasa, translated by A. W. Ryder.

"There is the spot where, sorrowfully searching,
I found an anklet on the ground one day;
It could not tinkle, for it was not perching
On your dear foot, but sad and silent lay.
I learned where you were carried by the giant
From vines that showed themselves compassionate;
They could not utter words, yet with their pliant
Branches they pointed where you passed of late.
The deer were kind; for while the juicy grasses
Fell quite unheeded from each careless mouth,
They turned wide-eyed that said, ` 'Tis there she passes
The hours as weary captive' toward the south.
There is the mountain where the peacock's screaming,
And branches smitten fragment by the rain,
And madder-flowers that woke at last from dreaming,
Made unendurable my lonely pain;
And mountain-caves where I could scarce dissemble
The woe I felt when thunder crashed anew,
For I remembered how you used to tremble
At thunder, seeking arms that longed for you."

Note: After Ravana's death and Sita's ordeal by fire, Rama along
with Sita and others return to Ayodhya in the celestial car
Pushpaka that always has an extra seat. Rama points out to his
wife several scenic spots in the southern India and narrates to
her about the pain he experienced during their separation.

Om Santih! Peace! - J. K. Mohana Rao

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