Chapter CLXXXIII: Section XLI

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.