p. 1012

Havine been honored by her (Sit&) in excellent words, the monkey proceeding, left that place, thinking,—"‘A sasll work it is that remains. Beheld have I this dark-eyed lady. Passing by three means, I see that I shall have t6 resort to the fourth. No ¢reaty with Rakshas can answer the ead: Neither can gifts prevail with the wealthy. Nor is it possible to sow dissensions among persons promé of their strength Then, display of prowess appeareth to me applicable ia ths case. Without resorting to prowess, way find J none fer ensuring success in this matter. If the Rakshas fiad thes foremost heroes fallen in battle, they may temper thei (martial ardour). He that, having compassed bis. (prigcipal) purpose, accomplishes many more without marring the prime one, is entitled to act. He that doeth a small werk, is certainly not a worker,—he it is that knoweth to being about success in diverse ways, is alone capable of securing

p. 1013

the same.* Although my sole commission was to effect this much,t 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 R&kshasa 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 R4vana, shall merrily journey to the abode of the monkeyking.” 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, Hanumin, 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 * The commentator explains this passage thus :—‘He that by great paing uccomplishes 4 small work, cannot be a great actor; but he that bringeth about his end in a variety of ways through the minimums of effort, is the actor, "=-T. t i.e. see Sité.

p. 1014

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 forestfire; 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* of the Ten-necked one, with its numbers of agoka trees and plants cast about disorderly, was, in very sooth, through the might of the monkey, rendered a sight composed of plants, e¢c., tending to awaken the regret of the spectator.t 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.