The Ring.

CANTO XLIV.: THE RING.

But special counselling he gave
To Hanumánwise and brave:

p. 379

To him on whom his soul relied,
With friendly words the monarch cried:
'O best of Vánarsght can stay
By land or sea thy rapid way,
Who through the air thy flight canst bend,
And to the Immortals' home ascend.
All realms, I ween, are known to thee
With every mountain, lake, and sea.
In strength and speed which naught can tire
Thou, worthy rival of thy sire
The mighty monarch of the wind,
Where'er thou wilt a way canst find.
Exert thy power, O swift and strong,
Bring back the lady lost so long,
For time and place, O thou most wise,
Lie open to thy searching eyes.'
   When Ráma heard that special best
To Hanumáne the rest,
He from the monarch's favour drew
Hope of success and trust anew
That he on whom his lord relied,
In toil and peril trained and tried,
Would to a happy issue bring
The task commanded by the king.
He gave the ring that bore his name,
A token for the captive dame,
That the sad lady in her woe
The missive of her lord might know.
'This ring,' he said, 'my wife will see,
Nor fear an envoy sent by me.
Thy valour and thy skill combined,
Thy resolute and vigorous mind,
And King Sugríva's behest,
With joyful hopes inspire my breast.'

Footnotes

378:1b "The Uttara Kurus, it should be remarked, may have been a real people, as they are mentioned in the Altareya BráhmanaI. 14 ... "Wherefore the several nations who dwell in this northern quarter, beyond the Himavat, the Uttara Kurus and the Uttara Madras are consecrated to glorious dominion, and people term them the glorious. In another passage of the same work, however, the Uttara Kurus are treated as belonging to the domain of mythology." MUIR's Sanskrit Texts. Vol. I p. 494. See ADDITIONAL NOTES.

378:2b The Moon-mountain.

378:3b The Rudras are the same as the storm winds, more usually called Maruts, and are often associated with Indra. In the later mythology the Rudras are regarded as inferior manifestations of S'iva, and most of their names are also names of Siva.