CANTO XLIII
BHAGIRATH
"When Sagar thus had bowed to fate,
The lords and commons of the state
Approved with ready heart and will
Prince Ansuman his throne to fill.
He ruled, a mighty king, unblamed,
Sire of Dilipa justly famed.
To him, his child and worthy heir,
The King resigned his kingdom's care,
And on Himalaya's pleasant side
His task austere of penance plied.
Bright as a God in clear renown
He planned to bring pure Ganga down.
There on his fruitless hope intent
Twice sixteen thousand years he spent,
And in the grove of hermits stayed
Till bliss in heaven his rites repaid.
Dilipa then, the good and great,
Soon as he learnt his kinsmen's fate,
Bowed down by woe, with troubled mind.
Pondering long no cure could find.
'How can I bring,' the mourner sighed,
'To cleanse their dust, the heavenly tide?
How can I give them rest, and save
Their spirits with the offered wave?'
Long with this thought his bosom skilled
In holy discipline was filled.
Pages:
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414