"Two hundred thousand of our best
With thee, my lord, shall seek the West." [**]

After searching in vain for traces of the missing princess, he and the other unsuccessful leaders returned to Rama and Sugriva, and said--

"On every hill our steps have been,
By wood, and cave, and deep ravine;
And all the wandering brooks we know,
Throughout the land that seaward flow;
Our feet by thy command have traced
The tangled thicket and the waste,
And dens and dingles hard to pass
For creeping plants and matted grass." [*+]

Though they could not learn the exact spot where Sita was hidden, they discovered that she had been carried towards the South, the quarter under Hanuman's special charge, and thus considerably narrowed the sphere of the quest. In the great encounter with the foe, Sushena did good service; for when Rama and Lakshman were overcome by Indrajit's magical noose, Sugriva and his comrades were greatly distressed. The Vanar king, however, being aware that Garuda could release them from the spell by which they were bound, told Sushena, when they regained their strength and senses, to fly with them to Kishkindha hermitage, where they could dwell in safety, whilst he himself fought against Ravana, and rescued the royal lady. Then Sushena, as the physician, said--

"Hear me yet:
When gods and fiends in battle met,

[paragraph continues] So fiercely fought the demon crew,
So wild a storm of arrows flew,
That heavenly warriors, faint with pain,
Sank smitten by the ceaseless rain.
Vrihaspati, with herb and spell,
Cured the sore wounds of those who fell,
And, skilled in arts that heal and save,
New life and sense and vigour gave.
Far, on the milky ocean's shore,
Still grow those herbs in boundless store;
Let swiftest Vanars thither speed
And bring them for our utmost need.
Let Panas and Sampati bring,
For well the wondrous leaves they know
That heal each wound and life bestow.
Beside that sea, which, churned of yore,
The Amrit on its surface bore,
Where the white billows lash the land,
Chandra's fair height and Drona stand.
Planted by gods, each glittering steep
Looks down upon the milky deep.
Let fleet Hanuman bring us thence,
Those herbs of wondrous influence." [**]

These plants were brought by Hanuman; the wounded recovered, and fought with renewed vigour.

Footnotes

^395:* Griffiths's "Ramayana," i. 92.

^395:+ Ibid., i. 93.

^395:++ Ibid., iii. 337.

^396:* The dress of a hermit.

^396:+ Griffiths's "Ramayana," iv. 91.

^398:* Griffiths's "Ramayana," v. 121.

^399:* Griffiths's "Ramayana," v. 122.

^399:+ Ibid., v. 197.

^399:++ Ibid., v. 198.