Asthan, or place of his birth at Ajudhiya, is daily visited by hosts of pilgrims, (as are the other places scattered here and there over India made famous by some connection with the great hero;) and when, but the other day, the native troops were leaving the Bombay harbor for Malta, the enthusiastic cheers which arose from the dark-hued soldiers were not "Long live the Queen!" "Three cheers for the Empress!" (Kaizar i Hind,) but "Ram Rajah Ki Jai!" "Ram Chandra Ki Jai!" (Hurrah for King Ram Chandra-Victory to Ram!)

The truly surprising popularity of the poem and its hero is also seen in the "Ram Lila," (Ram's Festival,) held annually at the close of September or early in October. This festival is observed throughout the country, and continues for a fortnight. During these happy days the chief parts of the "Ramayan are acted, and the principal adventures of Ram are brought to the notice of the Hindu public. It is an open-air theater, attended day after day by enthusiastic millions. In the larger cities, like Lucknow, Cawnpore, and Benares, great preparations are made, large sums of money expended, and a corresponding amount of enthusiasm enkindled. It is not unusual for a wealthy Hindu to spend thousands of dollars upon a single entertainment of this kind. A large garden or other walled inclosure is selected; in this tents are pitched to represent the hostile camps of Ram and Ravan. Trees are set out; rivers are made; in short, the place, becomes a miniature Hindustan from Ajudhiya to Ceylon. The actors who are hired for the occasion are dressed to represent the various characters of the poem, including even the monkeys. The play begins with the childhood of Ram, and progresses day after day until the climax is reached in the slaying Ravan and burning his city by the hero. It is pantomimic, and a loud-voiced pundit marches up and down in front of the spectators, keeping them acquainted with the progress of the play. Thousands of people, men, women, and children, all dressed as well and brightly as possible, laughing and chatting in the happiest manner, climb the garden walls, look down from the tops of surrounding houses, crowd the verandas of adjacent buildings, or stand in deep ranks around, the extensive stage. The scene, with its indescribable éclat, is most interesting to look upon, and dwells long and pleasantly in one's memory. In smaller cities the

representation is on a more limited scale; but every-where, in city, town, and hamlet, Ram's Festival is celebrated-as it has been for at least more than a score of centuries.

The subject of the "Ramayan" is, as the name implies, the life and adventures of Ram.* In this respect it is a true epic, and well planned. Various conjectures have been made as to the date of the events (real or imaginary) related in the poem. Sir William Jones places Ram Chandra in the year 2029 B. C., Tod in 1100, Bentley in 950, Gorresio in the 13th century B. C. The last named scholar, in the introduction to his edition of the "Ramayan," adduces a number of arguments in favor of the great antiquity of the poem, but these are hardly of convincing power. Perhaps a more proper estimate is the following, found in the fiftieth volume of the "Westminster Review :"

We are ignorant of the date of the poem, or rather of the era to which its older parts belong. Probably Valmiki and Homer were contemporaries; perhaps the Hindu was the earlier of the two, and sang his song while that Ilion was a reality which to Homer rose in the background of two or three generations. Our limits forbid us to enter into any detailed proof, nor, indeed, could any be quite satisfactory. The best arguments for its age are found in the poem itself, and the habits and manners which it describes. Thus, the burning of widows on the funeral piles of their husbands, which the Greeks describe as an old custom when Alexander invaded India, B. C. 327, is utterly unknown in the "Ramayana," and one fact like this speaks volumes. In such poems as the "Ramayana" and the "Iliad "we instinctively feel that they belong to the earlier world we enter them as we enter a house in Pompeii-the colors may still seem fresh and no mark of decay remind us of their age, but we feel that they belong not to us or ours, and a gulf of ages lies between us and our objects.

The poem appears to have undergone two distinct revisions, one in Benares and the other in Bengal; the former, as is generally allowed by European scholars, is the more genuine. The Bengal recension has been translated into Italian (by Gorresio) and into French, (by M. Fauche ;) but, until the appearance of the volumes before us, there had been no English version of either recension. In the years 1805-10 Carey and Marshman, the illustrious missionaries of Serampore, published the text and English translation of two books and a half, (the poem consists From Rama and ayana. '

of seven books, containing twenty-four thousand verses,) but these volumes have long been out of print, and are said to be very inferior as productions of literary art, though no blame attaches to the excellent men who published their work in the very dawn of Oriental studies."

In 1846 Schlegel published the text of the first two books, with a Latin translation of the first and part of the second. "I congratulate myself," he says in the Preface," that by the favor of the Supreme Deity I have been allowed to begin so great a work. I glory and make my boast that I, too, after so many ages, have helped to confirm that ancient oracle declared to Valmiki by the father of gods and men:

"Dum stabunt montes, campis dum flumina current,

Usque tuum toto carmen celebrabitur orbe.'"

The volumes before us indicate no small amount of research, scholarly ability, taste, and poetical skill. Mr. Griffith is to be congratulated for having given this very remarkable poem to the English public in so attractive a form. It will remain a worthy monument to his perseverance and erudition.

The work opens with a happy description of the great hero, his fair, strong body, and his many good qualities of head and heart. It also gives a brief history of his life, travels, and courageous deeds, which may be epitomized as follows:

Rama was the son of Dasaratha, King of Ajudhiya, who was fifty-seventh in descent from the illustrious Manu. This famous king had three queens, and the chief of these, Kausalya, gave birth to the hero of the poem. Even while a youth he became a general favorite in the kingdom, and especially with his father. In company with Lakshman, his ever-constant brother, he set out upon his travels. Journeying to the east, he arrived at the court of Janak, a great king, who gave him welcome in his own and in his father's name. This Janak had a bow wonderfully strong, and a daughter (named Sita) marvelously fair. He had promised Sita to the suitor who should be able to bend the great bow, but although many came to make the trial all failed. Rama asked to see the bow, and when it was brought seized it in the middle and drew the string until the weapon broke in two. The lovely Sita was at once pronounced to be his, and word was sent to his royal father, who hastened to attend the nuptial ceremonies. The marriage

was celebrated with great éclat, King Dasaratha giving as dowry one hundred thousand cows for each of his sons. The ceremonies ended, the kingly party returned to Ajudhiya, where they were met by an enthusiastic host of "people and Brahmans," who welcomed them home. The hero of the bow became more and more popular on account of his filial obedience, courage, and beauty.

"So for his virtues, kind and true,
Dearer and dearer Rama grew

To Dasaratha, Brahmans, all

In town and country, great and small."

The king grew older, and was minded to associate with himself his favorite son as Regent Heir. A popular assembly was held, and the people were asked to express their pleasure. The plan of the king was unanimously approved, and Rama was told by his father that he should be installed on the morrow. Great preparations were made. Temples, trees, shops, and houses were covered with banners and decorated with flowers; villagers came from every side and filled the city:

"Each with his friend had much to say

Of Rama's consecration day;

Yea, even children as they played

At cottage doors beneath the shade."

But, suddenly and without warning, the star of Rama's prosperity shot downward, and

"When Kaikeyi, youngest queen,
With eyes of envious hate had seen
The solemn pomp and regal state
Prepared the prince to consecrate,
She bade the hapless king bestow
Two gifts he promised long ago,
That Rama to the woods should flee,

And that her child the heir should be."

The king could not but keep his promise, and, weeping, banished his darling son, and in his place placed Kaikeyi's child, Bharat, upon the throne.

"Then Lakshman's truth was nobly shown,

Then were his love and courage known,

When for his brother's sake he dared

All perils, and his exile shared."

The faithful Sita, too, went with her lord. The king and people, "sad of mood," followed the departing hero until they came to the Ganges, when he crossed over and they returned to the capital. The little party went from wood to wood until

"They came to Chitrakuta's hill,

And Rama there, with Lakshman's aid,

A pleasant little cottage made,

And spent his days with Sita, dressed

In coat of bark and deer-skin vest.*

And Chitrakuta grew to be

As bright with those illustrious three t
As Meru's sacred peaks that shine
With glory, when the gods recline
Beneath them: Siva's self between

The Lord of Gold and Beauty's Queen."

The aged king pined for Rama, and died of grief. Bharat refused to reign, and wandered through the woods until he found his exiled brother. He besought him to return and take the throne, but Rama steadily refused, choosing rather to obey his father's decree:

"He placed his sandals in his hand,

A pledge that he would rule the land;
And bade his brother turn again.

"Then Bharat, finding prayer was vain,
The sandals took and went away;
Nor in Ayodhya would he stay,

But turned to Nandigrama, where

He ruled the realm with watchful care,

Still longing eagerly to learn

Tidings of Rama's safe return.

"Then lest the people should repeat

Their visit to his calm retreat,

Away from Chitrakuta's hill

Fared Rama ever onward, till

Beneath the shady trees he stood

Of Dandaka's primeval wood."

Here the hero of the poem took up his abode. Counseled by a new-found friend

The garb prescribed for ascetics by Manu.

In half the temples of Oudh and Central India images of Rama, Lakshman, and Sita, made of marble and richly painted, are to be seen. The extent to which they are worshiped proves the estimation in which they are held.