Ramayana_VOLUME V with index

Ramayana: A Divine Drama – Vol. V
Sumantra bent his head low when he saw the crowds. Seeing him
in this pitiable posture, they guessed that Rama had not returned,
and swooned on the spot, falling wherever they stood. Many
wept aloud. The residents of the palaces of the Queens, when
they heard the neighs of the grief-stricken steeds, sent maids in
haste to enquire why. They hurried in groups towards Sumantra
and showered questions on him. He sat dejected and crestfallen,
like a mute person, unable to find words to tell them the answers.
He sat unmoved like a broken pillar, as if he was deaf and could
not hear what they were so earnestly asking him. From his
behaviour, the maids inferred that Rama had rejected all
importunities to return. They lamented, “Oh Minister! Have you
left Sita in the terror-striking forest, and come back yourself,
alone” and broke into a sudden sharp wail.
SUMANTRA’S DESCRIPTION OF HIS JOURNEY WITH
RAMA
Sumantra goes to Kausalya’s chamber and see the Emperor
there:
One maid was more courageous than the rest. She told Sumantra
that Kausalya had ordered that he should come straight to the
palace where she was. There Sumantra found the Emperor
prostrate on the floor, exhausted without sleep or food, in
dishevelled clothes. Sumantra mastered the surge of sorrow
within him, and uttering the words “Jai! Jai,” which are
traditionally to be pronounced first in the imperial presence, he
stood by, shaking head to foot. Recognising that voice, Dasaratha
402