a!'

"Markandeya continued, 'Thus addressed, his father, O bull of the Bharata
race, gladly answered Rama, the corners of whose eyes were of a reddish
hue, saying, 'Return to Ayodhya and rule thou that kingdom! O thou of
great glory, thy fourteen years (of exile) have been completed.' Thus
addressed by Dasaratha, Rama bowed to the gods, and saluted by his
friends he was united with his wife, like the Lord of the celestials with
the daughter of Puloman. And that chastiser of foes then gave a boon to
Avindhya. And he also bestowed both riches and honours on the Rakshasa
woman named Trijata. And when Brahma with all the celestials having India
at their head, said unto Rama, 'O thou that ownest Kausalya for thy
mother, what boons after thy heart shall we grant thee?' Rama, thereupon,
prayed them to grant him firm adherence to virtues and invincibility in
respect of all foes. And he also asked for the restoration to life of all
those monkeys that had been slain by the Rakshasas, and after Brahma had
said--So be it, those monkeys, O king, restored to life, rose up from the
field of battle, and Sita too, of great good fortune, granted unto
Hanuman a boon, saying, 'Let thy life, O son, last as long as (the fame
of) Rama's achievements! And, O Hanuman of yellow eyes, let celestial
viands and drinks be ever available to thee through my grace!'

"Then the celestials with Indra at their head all disappeared in the very
sight of those warriors of spotless achievements. And beholding Rama
united with the daughter of Janaka, the charioteer of Sakra, highly
pleased, addressed him in the midst of friends, and said these words, 'O
thou of prowess that can never be baffled thou hast dispelled the sorrow
of the celestials, the Gandharvas, the Yakshas, the Asuras, the Nagas,
and human beings! As long, therefore, as the Earth will hold together, so
long will all creatures with the celestials, the Asuras, the Gandharvas,
the Yakshas, the Rakshasas, and the Pannagas, speak of thee.' And having
said these words unto Rama, Matali worshipped that son of Raghu, and
having obtained the leave of that foremost of wielders of weapons, he
went away, on that same chariot of solar effulgence. And Rama also, with
Sumatra's son and Vibhishana, and accompanied by all the monkeys with
Sugriva at their head, placing Sita in the van and having made
arrangements for the protection of Lanka, recrossed the ocean by the same
bridge. And he rode on that beautiful a