Valmiki, graceful speaker, heard, To highest admiration stirred. To him whose fame the tale rehearsed He paid his mental worship first; Then with his pupil humbly bent Before the saint most eloquent. Thus honoured and dismissed the seer Departed to his heavenly sphere. Then from his cot Valmiki hied To Tamasa's(44) sequestered side, Not far remote from Ganga's tide. He stood and saw the ripples roll Pellucid o'er a pebbly shoal. To Bharadvaja(45) by his side He turned in ecstasy, and cried: "See, pupil dear, this lovely sight, The smooth-floored shallow, pure and bright, With not a speck or shade to mar, And clear as good men's bosoms are. Here on the brink thy pitcher lay, And bring my zone of bark, I pray. Here will I bathe: the rill has not, To lave the limbs, a fairer spot. Do quickly as I bid, nor waste The precious time; away, and haste."Ramayana 1.14 · Ramayana · 1
Ramayana 1.14
Ramayana · translated by Ralph T.H. Griffith
Themes in this passage
Prayer in other traditions
The same theme, as Christianity, Islam and Hellenism address it.
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;Ephesians 6:18 · Bible · Ephesians
Pray not that day for one destruction, but pray for many destructions!Quran 25:14 · Quran · The Criterion
As he spoke he handed her the cup. Minerva thought it very right and proper of him to have given it to herself first;27 she accordingly began praying heartily to Neptune. “O thou,” she cried, “that encirclest the earth, vouchsafe to grant the prayers of thy servants that call upon thee. More especially we pray thee send down thy grace on Nestor and on his sons; thereafter also make the rest of the Pylian people some handsome return for the goodly hecatomb they are offering you. Lastly, grant Telemachus and myself a happy issue, in respect of the matter that has brought us in our ship to Pylos.”Odyssey 3.8 · Odyssey · 3
Thus prayed the chief: his unavailing prayer Great Jove refused, and toss’d in empty air: The God averse, while yet the fumes arose, Prepared new toils, and doubled woes on woes. Their prayers perform’d the chiefs the rite pursue, The barley sprinkled, and the victim slew. The limbs they sever from the inclosing hide, The thighs, selected to the gods, divide. On these, in double cauls involved with art, The choicest morsels lie from every part, From the cleft wood the crackling flames aspire While the fat victims feed the sacred fire. The thighs thus sacrificed, and entrails dress’d The assistants part, transfix, and roast the rest; Then spread the tables, the repast prepare, Each takes his seat, and each receives his share. Soon as the rage of hunger was suppress’d, The generous Nestor thus the prince address’d.Iliad 2.30 · Iliad · 2
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