In the lands of Jambudwipa;[31] winning power and fame again; Ruling well his realm reconquered, like a just and perfect king, All the appointed gifts bestowing, all the rites remembering. [22] Jhillikas are the large wood-crickets [23] A caravan. [24] This is a secretion which flows by a small orifice from the elephant's temples at certain seasons. It is sweet-smelling, and constantly alluded to in Hindoo poetry. [25] "Gentleness is chief of virtues." [26] These "curls" are the "Arvathas," or marks of good blood and high-breeding. [27] "O Beautiful One!" [28] This raining down of heavenly flowers on auspicious occasions is a frequent incident in ancient Indian poetry. [29] A short; broad-bladed sword. [30] Nandana is the Paradise of Indra. [31] Ancient name of India: "The Land of the Rose-apple Tree." SELECTIONS FROM THE RÁMÁYANA BY VÁLMÍKI [_Metrical translation by R.T.H. Griffiths_] INTRODUCTION The ideas of the human family are few, as is apparent from the study of the literature of widely different nations. Thus the "Rámáyana" ranks in Hindoo with the "Iliad" and the "Odyssey" in Greek literature. The character of Ráma corresponds with that of Menelaus, for both the European and the Asiatic heroes have had their wives carried off from them--although Sítá, the bride of Ráma, is chaste as an icicle from Diana's temple, while Helen is the infamous type of wanton wives, ancient and modern. The Hindoo Lanka is Troy, and Ayodhyá is Sparta. The material civilization of the cities in the Hindoo epic is more luxurious and gorgeous than that which Homer attributes to Greece in the heroic age. Such splendor and refinement as invests social life at Lanka and Ayodhyá never appear amid the severe simplicity of Argos or Troy. The moral tone seems perhaps higher in India than in Greece during the periods described in their several epics--at least as far as mutual love and forbearance go--and the ideas of marriage and conjugal fidelity are equally exalted. As to the literary quality of the Hindoo epic in comparison with Homer's work, we are at once impressed with the immense superiority of the Greek poem in artistic proportion, point, and precision. The Hindoo poet flounders along, amid a maze of prolix description and wearisome simile. Trifles are amplified and repeated, and the whole poem resembles a wild forest abounding in rich tropical vegetation, palms and flowers, but without paths, roads, or limits. Or rather, we are reminded of one of the highly painted and richly decorated idols of India, with their many heads and many hands: but when we turn to the Greek epic we stand before a statue of pure outline, flawless proportions, and more than human beauty.