A Companion Teaches the Queen Not to Measure Radiance
Bala Kanda, Chaupai 253
Doha 256 · Movement 1 of 2
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Sunayana grieves that elders and well-wishers merely watch. No one warns the guru against sending a boy toward the bow that Ravana could not touch and proud kings could not lift. Can a young swan carry Mount Mandara?
A discerning companion answers gently: radiant power must never be judged by size. Agastya was small beside the boundless sea, yet he drank its waters and filled the world with his fame.
The sun's disk also appears small when seen from earth. At its rising, darkness flees from all three worlds. The companion does not ask the queen to deny what her eyes perceive. She asks her to look more deeply. Youthful form can veil immeasurable force, and apparent smallness may be the chosen dwelling of splendour.
The queen sees a tender boy; her companion points to the sun hidden within him.
Read the passage from the Manas
सखि सब कौतुक देखनिहारे। जेठ कहावत हितू हमारे।। कोउ न बुझाइ कहइ गुर पाहीं। ए बालक असि हठ भलि नाहीं।। रावन बान छुआ नहिं चापा। हारे सकल भूप करि दापा।। सो धनु राजकुअँर कर देहीं। बाल मराल कि मंदर लेहीं।। भूप सयानप सकल सिरानी। सखि बिधि गति कछु जाति न जानी।। बोली चतुर सखी मृदु बानी। तेजवंत लघु गनिअ न रानी।। कहँ कुंभज कहँ सिंधु अपारा। सोषेउ सुजसु सकल संसारा।। रबि मंडल देखत लघु लागा। उदयँ तासु तिभुवन तम भागा।।
All my friends merely watch this spectacle, and my so-called elder well-wishers say nothing useful. Not one of them advises the Guru: 'This stubbornness in a young boy will not end well.' Ravana himself could not so much as touch the bow. Every king who tried was humbled despite his pride. And now they would place that same bow in the hands of a young prince? Can a baby swan lift Mount Mandara? All the wisdom of these kings has come to nothing. O friend, the ways of Providence are beyond anyone's knowing. A wise companion then spoke in gentle tones: 'O Queen, the radiant should never be judged by their size. Consider: where is the small pot-born sage Agastya, and where is the boundless ocean? Yet he drank it dry, and his glory filled the world. The sun's disc looks tiny to the eye, yet the moment it rises, darkness flees from all three worlds.'