The Forest Becomes a Choir of Birds
Ayodhya Kanda, Doha 137
Doha 137 · Movement 2 of 2
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Jay and cuckoo, parrot and rain bird, chakwa and chakor call from different heights of the renewed forest. No single song governs the canopy.
Each species offers its own cadence, and the mingled voices become sweet to the ear. The woodland surrounding Ram's dwelling is not silent peace but harmony spacious enough to include many sounds.
Their calls steal the heart because they seem to arise from Chitrakoot's joy itself. Wings move among flowering branches while unseen singers answer one another across ravines. Nature performs no formal hymn, yet every note joins the praise awakened by the Lord's arrival.
Around the leaf huts, many winged voices weave one heart stealing song through the flowering air.
Read the passage from the Manas
नीलकंठ कलकंठ सुक चातक चक्क चकोर। भाँति भाँति बोलहिं बिहग श्रवन सुखद चित चोर।।137।।
The jay, the cuckoo, the parrot, the papeeha, the chakwa, and the chakor: birds of every kind sing in voices sweet to the ear, stealing the heart away.