On speed the gales in rapid course, And bend the woods beneath their force, Till every branch and spray they bind In many a tangled knot entwined. What balmy sweets those gales dispense With cool and sacred influence! Fatigue and trouble vanish: such The magic of their gentle touch. Hark, when the gale the boughs has bent In woods of honey redolent, Through all their quivering sprays the trees Are vocal with the murmuring bees. The hills with towering summits rise, And with their beauty charm the eyes, Gay with the giant trees which bright With blossom spring from every height: And as the soft wind gently sways The clustering blooms that load the sprays, The very trees break forth and sing With startled wild bees' murmuring. Thine eyes to yonder Cassias(525) turn Whose glorious clusters glow and burn. Those trees in yellow robes behold, Like giants decked with burnished gold. Ah me, Sumitra's son, the spring Dear to sweet birds who love and sing, Wakes in my lonely breast the flame Of sorrow as I mourn my dame. Love strikes me through with darts of fire, And wakes in vain the sweet desire. Hark, the loud Koil swells his throat, And mocks me with his joyful note. I hear the happy wild-cock call Beside the shady waterfall. His cry of joy afflicts my breast By love's absorbing might possessed. My darling from our cottage heard One morn in spring this shrill-toned bird, And called me in her joy to hear The happy cry that charmed her ear. See, birds of every varied voice Around us in the woods rejoice, On creeper, shrub, and plant alight, Or wing from tree to tree their flight. Each bird his kindly mate has found, And loud their notes of triumph sound, Blending in sweetest music like The distant warblings of the shrike. See how the river banks are lined With birds of every hue and kind. Here in his joy the Koil sings, There the glad wild-cock flaps his wings.Ramayana 4.3b · Ramayana · 4
Ramayana 4.3b
Ramayana · translated by Ralph T.H. Griffith
Themes in this passage
JoyNatureLoveGriefChildrenCompassionDesireLoneliness
Joy in other traditions
The same theme, as Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Hellenism address it.
And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.Luke 1:14 · Bible · Luke
Those who believe and do right: Joy is for them, and bliss (their) journey's end.Quran 13:29 · Quran
Forests are delightful; where the world finds no delight, there the passionless will find delight, for they look not for pleasures.Dhp 7.99 · Dhammapada · The Venerable (Arhat)
He said, and placed the goblet at his side; With joy the venerable king replied:Iliad 23.46 · Iliad · 23
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