The Enchanted Car.

CANTO VIII.: THE ENCHANTED CAR.

There gleamed the car with wealth untold
Of precious gems and burnished gold;

Nor could the Wind-God's son withdraw
His rapt gaze from the sight he saw,
By Vis'vakarmá's  1b self proclaimed
The noblest work his hand had framed.
Uplifted in the air it glowed
Bright as the sun's diurnal road.
The eye might scan the wondrous frame
And vainly seek one spot to blame,
So fine was every part and fair
With gems inlaid with lavish care.
No precious stones so rich adorn
The cars wherein the Gods are borne,
Prize of the all-resistless might
That sprang from pain and penance rite,  2b
Obedient to the master's will
It moved o'er wood and towering hill,
A glorious marvel well designed
By Vis'vakarmá's artist mind,
Adorned with every fair device
That decks the cars of Paradise.
Swift moving as the master chose
It flew through air or sank or rose,  3b
And in its fleetness left behind
The fury of the rushing wind:
Meet mansion for the good and great,
The holy, wise, and fortunate.
Throughout the chariot's vast extent
Were chambers wide and excellent,
All pure and lovely to the eyes
As moonlight shed from cloudless skies.
Fierce goblins, rovers of the night
Who cleft the clouds with swiftest flight
In countless hosts that chariot drew,
With earrings clashing as they flew.

Footnotes

400:1 Pushpak from pushpa a flower. The car has been mentioned before in Ravan's expedition to carry off Sitá, Book III. Canto XXXV.

400:2 Lakshmi is the wife of Vishnu and the Goddess of Beauty and Felicity. She rose, like Aphrodite, from the foam of the sea. For an account of her birth aud beauty, see Book 1. Canto XLV.