sun
Sinks when his daily course is run.
Then from that noblest hill I fled
And to the northern country sped,
Saw Himavan,(747) and Meru's steep,
And stood beside the northern deep.
But when, by Bali's might oppressed,
E'en in those wilds I could not rest,
Came Hanuman the wise and brave,
And thus his prudent counsel gave:
"'I told thee how Matanga(748) cursed
Thy tyrant, that his head should burst
In pieces, should he dare invade
The precincts of that tranquil shade.
There may we dwell in peace and be
From thy oppressor's malice free."
We went to Rishyamuka's hill,
And spent our days secure from ill
Where, with that curse upon his head,
The cruel Bali durst not tread."

Canto XLVII. The Return.

Thus forth in quest of Sita went
The legions King Sugriva sent.
To many a distant town they hied
By many a lake and river's side.
As their great sovereign's order taught,
Through valleys, plains, and groves they sought.
They toiled unresting through the day:
At night upon the ground they lay
Where the tall trees, whose branches swayed
Beneath their fruit, gave pleasant shade.
Then, when a weary month was spent,
Back to Prasravan's hill they went,
And stood with faces of despair
Before their king Sugriva there.
Thus, having wandered through the east,
Great Vinata his labours ceased,
And weary of the fruitless pain
Returned to meet the king again,
Brave Satabali to the north
Had led his Vanar legions forth.
Now to Sugriva he sped
With all his host dispirited.
Sushen the western realms had sought,
And homeward now his legions brought.
All to Sugriva came, where still
He sat with Rama on the hill.
Before their sovereign humbly bent
And thus addressed him reverent:
"On every hill our steps have been,
By wood and cave and deep ravine;
And all the wandering brooks we know
Throughout the land that seaward flow,
Our feet by thy command have traced
The tangled thicket and the waste,
And dens and dingles hard to pass
for creeping plants and matted grass.
Well have we searched with toil and pain,
And monstrous creatures have we slain
But Hanuman of noblest mind
The Maithil lady yet will find;
For to his quarter of the sky(749)
The robber fiend was seen to fly."

Canto XLVIII. The Asur's Death.

But Hanuman still onward pressed
With Tara, Angad, and the rest,
Through Vindhya's pathless glens he sped
And left no spot unvisited.
He gazed from every mountain height,
He sought each cavern dark