hbourhood and touch impure.
At these, O son of Raghu, aim
Thine arrow with the quenchless flame."

Swift from the bow, as Rama drew
His cord, the fiery arrow flew.
Earth groaned to feel the wound, and sent
A rush of water through the rent;
And famed for ever is the well
Of Vrana(937) where the arrow fell.
Then every brook and lake beside
Throughout the region Rama dried.
But yet he gave a boon to bless
And fertilize the wilderness:
No fell disease should taint the air,
And sheep and kine should prosper there:
Earth should produce each pleasant root,
The stately trees should bend with fruit;
Oil, milk, and honey should abound,
And fragrant herbs should clothe the ground.
Then spake the king of brooks and seas
To Raghu's son in words like these:
"Now let a wondrous task be done
By Nala, Visvakarma's son,
Who, born of one of Vanar race,
Inherits by his father's grace
A share of his celestial art.
Call Nala to perform his part,
And he, divinely taught and skilled,
A bridge athwart the sea shall build."

He spoke and vanished. Nala, best
Of Vanar chiefs, the king addressed:
"O'er the deep sea where monsters play
A bridge, O Rama, will I lay;
For, sharer of my father's skill,
Mine is the power and mine the will.
'Tis vain to try each gentler art
To bribe and soothe the thankless heart;
In vain on such is mercy spent;
It yields to naught but punishment.
Through fear alone will Ocean now
A passage o'er his waves allow.
My mother, ere she bore her son,
This boon from Visvakarma won:
"O Mandari, thy child shall be
In skill and glory next to me."
But why unbidden should I fill
Thine ear with praises of my skill?
Command the Vanar hosts to lay
Foundations for the bridge to-day."

He spoke: and swift at Rama's hest
Up sprang the Vanars from their rest,
The mandate of the king obeyed
And sought the forest's mighty shade.
Unrooted trees to earth they threw,
And to the sea the timber drew.
The stately palm was bowed and bent,
Asokas from the ground were rent,
And towering Sals and light bamboos,
And trees with flowers of varied hues,
With loveliest creepers wreathed and crowned,
Shook, reeled, and fell upon the ground.
With mighty engines piles of stone
And seated hills were overthrown:
Unprisoned waters sprang on high,
In rain descending from the sky:
And ocean with a roar and swell
Heaved wildly when the mountains fell.
Then the great bridge of wondrous strength
Was built, a hundred leagues in