Sugriva is surrounded by counsellors like thee.  Thou mayst depart now!’ And with these words she gave me this jewel as a credential.  And, indeed, it was by means of this jewel that the faultless Sita had been able to support her existence.  And the daughter of Janaka further told me as a token from her, that by thee, O tiger among men, a blade of grass (inspired with Mantras and thus converted into a fatal weapon) had once been shot at a crow while ye were on the breast of the mighty hill known by the name of Chitrakuta!  And this she said as evidence of my having met her and hers being really the princess of Videha.  I then caused myself to be seized by Ravana’s soldiers, and then set fire to the city of Lanka!"’”

    [51] Abode of Varuna in the original.

    [52] Garuda.

    [53] Pavana, the God of the wind.

SECTION CCLXXXI

“Markandeya said, ’It was on the breast of that very hill where Rama was seated with those foremost of monkeys that great monkey chiefs at the command of Sugriva, began to flock together.  The father-in-law of Vali, the illustrious Sushena, accompanied by a thousand crores of active apes, came to Rama.  And those two foremost of monkeys endued with mighty energy, viz., Gaya and Gavakshya, each accompanied by a hundred crores of monkeys, showed themselves there.  And, O king, Gavakshya also of terrible mien and endued with a bovine tail, showed himself there, having collected sixty thousand crores of monkeys.  And the renowned Gandhamadana, dwelling on the mountains of the same name, collected a hundred thousand crores of monkeys.  And the intelligent and mighty monkey known by the name of Panasa mustered together fifty-two crores of monkeys.[54] And that foremost and illustrious of monkeys named Dadhimukha of mighty energy mustered a large army of monkeys possessed of terrible prowess.  And Jamvuvan showed himself there with a hundred thousand crores of black bears of terrible deeds and faces having the Tilaka mark.[55] And these and many other chiefs of monkey-chiefs, countless in number, O king, came there for aiding Rama’s cause.  And endued with bodies huge as mountain-peaks and roaring like lions, loud was the uproar that was heard there made by those monkeys running restlessly from place to place.  And some of them looked like mountain-peaks, and some looked like buffaloes.  And some were of the hue of autumnal clouds and the faces of some were red as vermillion.  And some rose high, and some fell down, and some cut capers, and some scattered the dust, as they mustered together from various directions.  And that monkey army, vast as the sea at full tide, encamped there at Sugriva’s bidding.  And after those foremost of monkeys had mustered from every direction, the illustrious descendant of Raghu, with Sugriva by his side, set out in an auspicious moment of a very fair day under a lucky constellation,