Sundara Kanda · Sarga 12 of 68 · 25 verses
Despair, and the Will to Search Again
Hanuman has searched the palace from end to end, the arbours, the picture galleries, the night chambers, and Sita is nowhere. The fear that has been growing in him takes shape: perhaps she is dead, killed by Ravana for guarding her virtue, or died of terror at the sight of the misshapen rakshasis. He imagines going back to the monkeys with nothing to say, and to Sugriva, who punishes hard.
Then he steadies himself with a thought that has become one of the most quoted lines of the poem: “Not giving up in despair is the root of good fortune; not giving up is the highest happiness.” He starts again, searching every drinking hall, flower house, picture gallery, cellar, shrine and pleasure house, opening doors, leaping up and dropping down, until there is not a space four fingers wide in Ravana’s women’s quarters that he has not seen. He sees rakshasis of every shape, women of the vidyadharas and nagas carried off by Ravana, but not Sita. He climbs down from the Pushpaka chariot sunk in thought.
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स तस्य मध्ये भवनस्य संस्थितो लतागृहांश्चित्रगृहान् निशागृहान् । जगाम सीतां प्रतिदर्शनोत्सुको न चैव तां पश्यति चारुदर्शनाम् ॥ १ ॥
Standing in the middle of that palace, eager to see Sita, he went through the arbours, the picture galleries and the night chambers, but he did not see her of lovely appearance.
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स चिन्तयामास ततो महाकपिः प्रियामपश्यन् रघुनन्दनस्य ताम् । ध्रुवं न सीता ध्रियते यथा न मे विचिन्वतो दर्शनमेति मैथिली ॥ २ ॥
Then the great monkey thought, not seeing the beloved of Raghu’s son: “Surely Sita is not alive, since Maithili does not appear to me though I search.
सा राक्षसानां प्रवरेण जानकी स्वशीलसंरक्षणतत्परा सती । अनेन नूनं प्रति दुष्टकर्मणा हता भवेदार्यपथे परे स्थिता ॥ ३ ॥
“That virtuous Janaki, intent on guarding her honour, standing on the noble path, must surely have been killed by this chief of rakshasas, doer of evil deeds.
विरूपरूपा विकृता विवर्चसो महानना दीर्घविरूपदर्शनाः । समीक्ष्य ता राक्षसराजयोषितो भयाद् विनष्टा जनकेश्वरात्मजा ॥ ४ ॥
“Or, seeing those women of the rakshasa king, misshapen, deformed, without lustre, with huge mouths and long, grotesque faces, the daughter of Janaka’s lord perished of fear.
सीतामदृष्ट्वा ह्यनवाप्य पौरुषं विहृत्य कालं सह वानरैश्चिरम् । न मेऽस्ति सुग्रीवसमीपगा गतिः सुतीक्ष्णदण्डो बलवांश्च वानरः ॥ ५ ॥
“Not having seen Sita and having achieved no manly deed, having spent a long time with the monkeys, I have no way back to Sugriva; the monkey is powerful and punishes hard.
दृष्टमन्तःपुरं सर्वं दृष्टा रावणयोषितः । न सीता दृश्यते साध्वी वृथा जातो मम श्रमः ॥ ६ ॥
“The whole inner palace has been seen, and Ravana’s women seen; the virtuous Sita is not seen. My labour has been in vain.
किं नु मां वानराः सर्वे गतं वक्ष्यन्ति संगताः । गत्वा तत्र त्वया वीर किं कृतं तद् वदस्व नः ॥ ७ ॥
“What will all the monkeys say to me, gathered together, when I return? ‘Hero, you went there: what did you do? Tell us.’
अदृष्ट्वा किं प्रवक्ष्यामि तामहं जनकात्मजाम् । ध्रुवं प्रायमुपासिष्ये कालस्य व्यतिवर्तने ॥ ८ ॥
“What shall I say, not having seen Janaka’s daughter? Surely I will fast unto death, now that the time has passed.
किं वा वक्ष्यति वृद्धश्च जाम्बवानंगदश्च सः । गतं पारं समुद्रस्य वानराश्च समागताः ॥ ९ ॥
“What will old Jambavan and Angada say, and the assembled monkeys, when I have gone to the far shore of the ocean?
अनिर्वेदः श्रियो मूलमनिर्वेदः परं सुखम् । भूयस्तत्र विचेष्यामि न यत्र विचयः कृतः ॥ १० ॥
“Not to despair is the root of good fortune; not to despair is the highest happiness. I will search again where no search has been made.
अनिर्वेदो हि सततं सर्वार्थेषु प्रवर्तकः । करोति सफलं जन्तोः कर्म यच्च करोति सः ॥ ११ ॥
“For not despairing is always what sets every undertaking moving; it makes fruitful whatever a creature does.
तस्मादनिर्वेदकरं यत्नं चेष्टेऽहमुत्तमम् । अदृष्टांश्च विचेष्यामि देशान् रावणपालितान् ॥ १२ ॥
“Therefore I will make the best effort, the kind that does not despair, and search the places ruled by Ravana that I have not seen.
आपानशाला विचितास्तथा पुष्पगृहाणि च । चित्रशालाश्च विचिता भूयः क्रीडागृहाणि च ॥ १३ ॥
“The drinking halls have been searched, and the flower houses too; the picture galleries have been searched, and the pleasure houses again,
निष्कुटान्तररथ्याश्च विमानानि च सर्वशः । इति संचिन्त्य भूयोऽपि विचेतुमुपचक्रमे ॥ १४ ॥
“the garden alleys and the streets, and the aerial chariots everywhere.” Thinking so, he began to search once more.
भूमीगृहांश्चैत्यगृहान् गृहातिगृहकानपि । उत्पतन् निपतंश्चापि तिष्ठन् गच्छन् पुनः क्वचित् ॥ १५ ॥
Underground chambers, shrine houses, houses beyond houses: leaping up and dropping down, standing still and moving on again here and there,
अपवृण्वंश्च द्वाराणि कपाटान्यवघट्टयन् । प्रविशन् निष्पतंश्चापि प्रपतन्नुत्पतन्निव ॥ १६ ॥
opening doors, pushing back the panels, going in and coming out, falling and springing up,
सर्वमप्यवकाशं स विचचार महाकपिः । चतुरंगुलमात्रोऽपि नावकाशः स विद्यते । रावणान्तःपुरे तस्मिन् यं कपिर्न जगाम सः ॥ १७ ॥
the great monkey went through every space; there was not a space even four fingers wide in that inner palace of Ravana where the monkey did not go.
प्राकारान्तरवीथ्यश्च वेदिकाश्चैत्यसंश्रयाः । श्वभ्राश्च पुष्करिण्यश्च सर्वं तेनावलोकितम् ॥ १८ ॥
The lanes between the walls, the platforms at the shrines, the pits and the lotus pools: all were looked over by him.
राक्षस्यो विविधाकारा विरूपा विकृतास्तथा । दृष्टा हनुमता तत्र न तु सा जनकात्मजा ॥ १९ ॥
Rakshasis of every shape, misshapen and deformed, were seen by Hanuman there, but not Janaka’s daughter.
रूपेणाप्रतिमा लोके परा विद्याधरस्त्रियः । दृष्टा हनुमता तत्र न तु राघवनन्दिनी ॥ २० ॥
Women of the vidyadharas, beyond compare in beauty in the world, were seen by Hanuman there, but not the delight of Raghu’s son.
नागकन्या वरारोहाः पूर्णचन्द्रनिभाननाः । दृष्टा हनुमता तत्र न तु सा जनकात्मजा ॥ २१ ॥
Daughters of the nagas, fair-hipped, with faces like the full moon, were seen by Hanuman there, but not Janaka’s daughter.
प्रमथ्य राक्षसेन्द्रेण नागकन्या बलाद्धृताः । दृष्टा हनुमता तत्र न सा जनकनन्दिनी ॥ २२ ॥
Naga maidens carried off by force by the rakshasa king, crushing all resistance, were seen by Hanuman there, but not Janaka’s delight.
सोऽपश्यंस्तां महाबाहुः पश्यंश्चान्या वरस्त्रियः । विषसाद महाबाहुर्हनूमान् मारुतात्मजः ॥ २३ ॥
Not seeing her, and seeing other lovely women, mighty-armed Hanuman, son of the Wind, sank into dejection.
उद्योगं वानरेन्द्राणां प्लवनं सागरस्य च । व्यर्थं वीक्ष्यानिलसुतश्चिन्तां पुनरुपागतः ॥ २४ ॥
Seeing the effort of the monkey lords and the leap across the ocean come to nothing, the Wind’s son fell again into anxious thought.
अवतीर्य विमानाच्च हनूमान् मारुतात्मजः । चिन्तामुपजगामाथ शोकोपहतचेतनः ॥ २५ ॥
Coming down from the aerial chariot, Hanuman, son of the Wind, fell into thought, his mind struck by sorrow.