Ramayana, Epic of Rama, Prince of India

VII. In the Nilgiri Mountains - 110
Next to Nila son of AGNI, Jambaman VIDHATA’S son,
Hanuman the son of MARUT, famed for deeds of valour done,
Unto Gaya and Gavaksha, Gandha-madan true and tried,
Unto Angad prince and regent, thus the brave Sugriva cried:
“Noblest, bravest of our chieftains, greatest of our race are ye,
Seek and search the Southern regions, rock and ravine, wood and tree
[116] Search the thousand peaks of Vindhya lifting high its misty head,
Through the gorges of Narmada rolling o’er its rocky bed,
By the gloomy Godavari and by Krishna’s wooded stream,
Through Utkala’s sea-girt forests tinged by morning’s early gleam,
Search the towns of famed Dasarna and Avanti’s rocky shore,
And the uplands of Vidarbha and the mountains of Mysore,
Land of Matsyas and Kalingas and Kausika’s regions fair,
Trackless wilderness of Dandak seek with anxious toil and care.
Search the empire of the Andhras, of the sister-nations three, –
Cholas, Cheras and the Pandyas dwelling by the southern sea,
Pass Kaveri’s spreading waters, Malya’s mountains towering brave,
Seek the isle of Tamra-parni, gemmed upon the ocean wave!”
To Susena chief and elder, – Tara’s noble sire was he, –
Spake Sugriva with obeisance and in accents bold and free:
“Take my lord, a countless army of the bravest and the best,
Search where beats the sleepless ocean on the regions of the West.
Search the country of Saurashtras, of Bahlikas strong and brave,
And each busy mart and seaport on the western ocean wave,
Castles girt by barren mountains, deserts by the sandy sea,
Forests of the fragrant ketak, regions of the tamal tree!
Search the ocean port of Pattan shaded by its fruitful trees,
Where the feathery groves of cocoa court the balmy western breeze,
Where on peaks of Soma-giri lordly lions wander free,
Where the waters of the Indus mingle with the mighty sea!”