The Light of Asia or The Great Renunciation (Mahcabhinishkramana) Being The Life and Teaching of Gautama, Prince of India and Founder of Buddhism (As Told in Verse by an Indian Buddhist). By Edwin Arnold |
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 | The Light of Asia or The Great Renunciation (Mahcabhinishkramana) |  |
Thou who wouldst see where dawned the light at last,
North-westwards from the “Thousand Gardens” go
By Gunga's valley till thy steps be set
On the green hills where those twin streamlets spring,
Nilâjan and Mohâna; follow them,
Winding beneath broad-leaved mahúa-trees,
'Mid thickets of the sansár and the bir,
Till on the plain the shining sisters meet
In Phalgú's bed, flowing by rocky banks
To Gâya and the red Barabar hills.
Hard by that river spreads a thorny waste,
Uruwelaya named in ancient days,
With sandhills broken; on its verge a wood
Waves sea-green plumes and tassels 'thwart the sky,
With undergrowth wherethrough a still flood steals,
Dappled with lotus-blossoms, blue and white,
And peopled with quick fish and tortoises.
Near it the village of Senáni reared
Its roofs of grass, nestled amid the palms,
Peaceful with simple folk and pastoral toils.
North-westwards from the “Thousand Gardens” go
By Gunga's valley till thy steps be set
On the green hills where those twin streamlets spring,
Nilâjan and Mohâna; follow them,
Winding beneath broad-leaved mahúa-trees,
'Mid thickets of the sansár and the bir,
Till on the plain the shining sisters meet
In Phalgú's bed, flowing by rocky banks
To Gâya and the red Barabar hills.
Hard by that river spreads a thorny waste,
Uruwelaya named in ancient days,
With sandhills broken; on its verge a wood
Waves sea-green plumes and tassels 'thwart the sky,
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Dappled with lotus-blossoms, blue and white,
And peopled with quick fish and tortoises.
Near it the village of Senáni reared
Its roofs of grass, nestled amid the palms,
Peaceful with simple folk and pastoral toils.
| The Light of Asia or The Great Renunciation (Mahcabhinishkramana) | |