Lakshmana replied: "How can I find sleep, Guha? Here, lying on the bare
ground, is Seeta, daughter of the great Janaka and daughter-in-law of the great Dasaratha.
The great Purushottama himself who could subdue the three worlds lies stretched on the
grass. How can I sleep who sees this?
"I wonder how Ayodhya is bearing it.
He queens' apartments must be loud with wailing. I even doubt if at this moment
Kausalya and my mother are alive. My father indeed found strength somehow to say to Raama,
'Go to the forest,' but I doubt if he has strength enough left to survive Raama's actual
departure. And if he has passed away, our mothers too will have given up their lives. And
here we are, deprived even of the privilege of doing the last offices to the dead. |
