have I passed the night: thy feast
Gave joy to every man and beast;
And I, great lord, and every peer
Were satisfied with sumptuous cheer,
Thy banquet has delighted all
From highest chief to meanest thrall,
And rich attire and drink and meat
Banished the thought of toil and heat.
And now, O Hermit good and great,
A boon of thee I supplicate.
To Rama's side my steps I bend:
Do thou with friendly eye commend.
O tell me how to guide my feet
To virtuous Rama's lone retreat:
Great Hermit, I entreat thee, say
How far from here and which the way."

Thus by fraternal love inspired
The chieftain of the saint inquired:
Then thus replied the glorious seer
Of matchless might, of vows austere:
"Ere the fourth league from here be passed,
Amid a forest wild and vast,
Stands Chitrakuta's mountain tall,
Lovely with wood and waterfall.
North of the mountain thou wilt see
The beauteous stream Mandakini,
Where swarm the waterfowl below,
And gay trees on the margin grow.
Then will a leafy cot between
The river and the hill be seen:
'Tis Rama's, and the princely pair
Of brothers live for certain there.
Hence to the south thine army lead,
And then more southward still proceed,
So shalt thou find his lone retreat,
And there the son of Raghu meet."

Soon as the ordered march they knew,
The widows of the monarch flew,
Leaving their cars, most meet to ride,
And flocked to Bharadvaja's side.
There with the good Sumitra Queen
Kausalya, sad and worn, was seen,
Caressing, still with sorrow faint,
The feet of that illustrious saint,
Kaikeyi too, her longings crossed,
Reproached of all, her object lost,
Before the famous hermit came,
And clasped his feet, o'erwhelmed with shame.
With circling steps she humbly went
Around the saint preeminent,
And stood not far from Bharat's side
With heart oppressed, and heavy-eyed.
Then the great seer, who never broke
One holy vow, to Bharat spoke:
"Speak, Raghu's son: I fain would learn
The story of each queen in turn."

Obedient to the high request
By Bharadvaja thus addressed,
His reverent hands together laid,
He, skilled in speech, his answer made:
"She whom, O Saint, thou seest here
A Goddess in her form appear,
Was the chief consort of the king,
Now worn with fast and sorrowing.
As Aditi in days of yore
The all-preserving Vishnu bore,
Kausalya bore with happy fate
Lord Rama of the lion's gait.
She who, transfixed with torturing pangs,
On her left arm so fondly hangs,
As