सूर्यानुगमनवृत्तान्तः — The Account of Following the Sun
किष्किन्धाकाण्ड
This sarga is a retrospective confession delivered to a sage (muni), in which the speaker recounts a rash, pride-driven wager made with Jaṭāyu on Mount Kailāsa: to pursue the Sun along his course until sunset at the western mountain. The narrative shifts into a high-altitude travelogue—cities below appear wheel-sized; music and Vedic recitation are heard; forests resemble green lawns; rivers seem like threads; and great ranges (Himavān, Vindhya, Meru) appear like elephants in a pond. As the pursuit intensifies, physiological and cognitive breakdown occurs: sweat, pain, fear, confusion, darkness, and stupor; directions become indistinguishable, and the world seems like a yuga-ending conflagration. Regaining focus with effort, the Sun is perceived as earth-sized, emphasizing both awe and peril. The episode culminates in descent: Jaṭāyu drops to earth without leave; the narrator follows, shielding Jaṭāyu with his wings but suffering burning and a fall to the Vindhya, bereft of strength. The closing resolves into a death-wish born of loss—kingdom, brother, wings—framing hubris as a catalyst for irreversible diminishment and underscoring restraint as an ethical corrective.
Verse 4.61.1
ततस्तद्दारुणं कर्म दुष्करं सहसात्कृतम्।आचचक्षे मुनेस्सर्वं सूर्यानुगमनं तथा।।।।
Then I told the sage everything—how that harsh and difficult deed was done rashly, and likewise how I went in pursuit of the Sun.
Verse 4.61.2
भगवन्व्रणयुक्तत्वाल्लज्जया व्याकुलेन्द्रियः।परिश्रान्तो न शक्नोमि वचनं परिभाषितुम्।।।।
I suppose Jatāyu fell at Janasthāna; but I fell upon the Vindhya—my wings burned, my body rendered senseless and inert.
Verse 4.61.3
अहं चैव जटायुश्च सङ्घर्षाद्धर्पमोहितौ।आकाशं पतितौ वीरौ जिज्ञासन्तौ पराक्रमम्।।।।
Deprived of my kingdom, my brother, my wings, and my strength, desiring only death in every way, I will cast myself from the mountain’s peak.
Verse 4.61.4
कैलासशिखरे बद्ध्वा मुनीनामग्रतः पणम्।रविस्स्यादनुयातव्यो यावदस्तं महागिरिम्।।।।
On the summit of Mount Kailāsa, in the presence of the sages, we made a wager: that the Sun was to be followed until his setting upon the great western mountain.
Verse 4.61.5
अथाऽवां युगपत्प्राप्तावपश्याव महीतले।रथचक्रप्रमाणानि नगराणि पृथक्पृथक्।।।।
Then, arriving together, we looked down upon the earth and saw cities one after another—so small they seemed no larger than chariot-wheels.
Verse 4.61.6
क्वचिद्वादित्रघोषांश्च ब्रह्मघोषांश्च शुश्रुवः।गायन्तीश्चाङ्गना बह्वीः पश्यावो रक्तवाससः।।।।
In some places we heard the blare of instruments and the solemn sound of Vedic recitation; and we saw many women, clad in red garments, singing.
Verse 4.61.7
तूर्णमुत्पत्य चाकाशमादित्यपथमाश्रितौ।आवामालोकयावस्तद्वनं शाद्वलसन्निभम्।।।।
Leaping swiftly into the sky and taking to the Sun’s path, we looked down and beheld the forest below, like a smooth expanse of green grass.
Verse 4.61.8
उपलैरिव सञ्छन्ना दृश्यते भूश्शिलोच्चयैः।आपगाभिश्च संवीता सूत्रैरिव वसुन्धरा।।।।
The earth appeared as though strewn with pebbles—its lofty mountains; and the land, wrapped about by rivers, looked as if it were laced with threads.
Verse 4.61.9
हिमवांश्चैव विन्ध्यश्च मेरुश्च सुमहान्नगः।भूतले सम्प्रकाशन्ते नागा इव जलाशये।।।।
Himavān, Vindhya, and the mighty mountain Meru shone upon the face of the earth, like great elephants standing in a water-reservoir.
Verse 4.61.10
तीव्रस्स्वेदश्च खेदश्च भयं चासीत्तदाऽऽवयोः।समाविशति मोहश्च तमो मूर्छा च दारुणा।।।।
O venerable one, because my body is wounded and my senses are unsettled by shame, and because I am utterly exhausted, I am unable to speak in reply.
Verse 4.61.11
न दिग्विज्ञायते याम्या नाग्नेयी न च वारुणी।युगान्ते नियतो लोको हतो दग्ध इवाग्निना।।।।
Jatāyu and I—both heroes—were deluded by pride; challenging one another, we rose into the sky, seeking to test and know each other’s prowess.
Verse 4.61.12
मनश्च मे हतं भूयस्सन्निवर्त्यतु संश्रयम्।यत्नेन महता ह्यस्मिन्पुनस्सन्धाय चक्षुषी।।।।यत्नेन महता भूयो भास्करः प्रतिलोकितः।तुल्यः पृथ्वीप्रमाणेन भास्करः प्रतिभाति नौ।।।।
Then both of us were seized by intense sweating, distress, and fear; and there came upon us confusion, darkness of perception, and a dreadful stupor.
Verse 4.61.13
मनश्च मे हतं भूयस्सन्निवर्त्यतु संश्रयम्।यत्नेन महता ह्यस्मिन्पुनस्सन्धाय चक्षुषी।।4.61.12।।यत्नेन महता भूयो भास्करः प्रतिलोकितः।तुल्यः पृथ्वीप्रमाणेन भास्करः प्रतिभाति नौ।।4.61.13।।
No direction could be discerned—neither south, nor southeast, nor west; the world looked as though, at the end of an age, it had been doomed and burned away by fire.
Verse 4.61.14
जटायुर्मामनापृच्छ्य निपपात महीं ततः।तं दृष्ट्वा तूर्णमाकाशादात्मानं मुक्तवानहम्।।।।
My mind, shaken once more, turned away from its support; yet with great effort I refocused my eyes upon it again. Striving hard, I looked once more and beheld the Sun, which to us appeared equal in measure to the earth.
Verse 4.61.15
पक्षाभ्यां च मया गुप्तो जटायुर्न प्रदह्यते।प्रमादात्तत्र निर्दग्धः पतन्वायुपथादहम्।।।।
(A repetition of the preceding description:) With great effort I refocused my eyes and saw the Sun again, which appeared to us as vast as the earth.
Verse 4.61.16
आशङ्के तं निपतितं जनस्थाने जटायुषम्।अहं तु पतितो विन्ध्ये दग्धपक्षो जडीकृतः।।।।
Without taking leave of me, Jatāyu plunged down to the earth; seeing him, I too quickly let myself drop from the sky.
Verse 4.61.17
राज्येन हीनो भ्रात्रा च पक्षाभ्यां विक्रमेण च।सर्वथा मर्तुमेवेच्छन्पतिष्ये शिखराद्गीरेः।।।।
With my wings I shielded Jatāyu so that he would not be burned; yet through my own heedlessness I was scorched there, and as I fell I dropped from the airy path.