by Tulsidas
Beholding Ram’s sweet and heart-enchanting form,
‘Bodiless’ Videh became truly so.69
Recognizing that his heart was overwhelmed with love,
The king took refuge in reason and steadied himself.
Bowing his head at the muni’s feet,
He spoke, his deep voice shaking with emotion.
(215)
‘Tell me, O lord, these two beautiful children—
Are they the ornaments of a muni’s family or the protectors of a royal dynasty?
Or has brahm, the ultimate Absolute, whom the Vedas praise as ‘not this’,
Taken this dual form and come here?
My heart, which by its very nature is free from worldly attachment,
Is as captivated by these children as a chakor by the moon.
That is why, lord, I question you in all sincerity—
Answer me, sire, and do not conceal anything.
When I behold them, my heart fills with great love
That forces my mind to renounce even the bliss of becoming one with the Absolute.’
The muni laughed and replied, ‘King, you are right,
And your words are never untrue.
They are beloved of every living creature in this world.’
(Ram smiled to himself at these words.)
‘They are the sons of Dasharath, jewel of the line of Raghu,
Whom the king has sent to help me.
Ram and Lakshman, these two noble brothers,
The abodes of beauty, goodness and strength,
Protected my sacrifice, as the whole world witnessed,
By defeating the Asurs in battle.’
(216)
‘Muni,’ said the king, ‘gazing upon your feet,
I am speechless at the reward I have received for my good deeds in the past.
These two handsome brothers, one dark, the other fair-complexioned
Give joy to joy itself!
The pure and innocent love between them
Brings such joy to my heart as cannot be described.’
The king of Videha, enraptured, added, ‘Lord,
It is like the natural love of brahm and jiva, of the Universal Spirit and the individual soul.’
Again and again the sovereign of all men gazed upon the Lord,
His body trembling with joy, his heart full of glad delight.
Then, singing the muni’s praises and bowing his head at his feet,
The lord of the earth brought him into the city.
To a gracious mansion that was pleasant and agreeable at all times
The king escorted him, and invited him to reside there.
After paying him further homage and attending to him in every way,
The king took his leave of the muni and went home.
After Ram, the jewel of the dynasty of Raghu,
Had eaten with the rishis and rested,
He sat down by his brother’s side.
A full watch of the day still remained.
(217)
In Lakshman’s heart was a great longing
To go and see Janak’s city—
But in awe of his brother and apprehensive of the muni
He said nothing, and only smiled to himself.
Ram understood the state of his younger brother’s heart,
And his own was filled with affection towards his devotee.
Very courteously, with a shy and modest smile,
And receiving his guru’s permission to speak, he said,
‘Lord, Lakshman wants to see the city,
But afraid of you, sire, he hasn’t said so.
If I receive your permission, lord,
I will show him the city and quickly bring him back.’
Hearing this, the great muni replied in words full of affection,
‘Ram, you cannot but observe the proprieties,
For you are the protector of dharma’s boundaries, son,
And give joy to your followers, bound by your love for them.
Go see the city and return—
The abode of all bliss are you two brothers.
Reward the eyes of all the people
With the sight of your beautiful faces.’
(218)
Saluting the muni’s lotus feet, the two brothers
Who delight the eyes of the world, went forth.
Beholding their great beauty, a crowd of children
Followed them, eyes and hearts captivated.
Clad in yellow garments, quivers about their waists,
Handsome bows and arrows resplendent in their hands,
Their bodies adorned with sandal paste—white or red, according to their complexion,
One dark, the other fair—they were a heart-enchanting pair.
With shoulders like those of lions, long arms,
And beautiful strings of elephant pearls upon their chests,
With well-formed ears and bright, lotus eyes,
And faces as radiant as the moon that relieves the agony of the fierce flames of the three afflictions—
Pendants of gold adorned their ears
And stole the hearts of all those who looked upon them.
Their glance was charming, their eyebrows arched,
And the tilak marks upon their foreheads were as though stamped upon Beauty herself.
With pretty, four-cornered caps upon their lovely heads
Over black, curling hair,
The two brothers were, from head to toe, beautiful to behold,
With comeliness and grace in every limb.
(219)
‘The princes have come to see the city!’
When the townsfolk heard this news,
They came running, abandoning home and work,
Like paupers rushing to loot a treasury.
Upon beholding the two brothers, so unaffectedly graceful and handsome,
They were overjoyed, and their eyes received their reward.
Young girls peeped out from the windows of their houses
Gazing upon Ram, in love with his beauty.
They said to each other, in words full of love,
‘Friend, he surpasses in beauty innumerable Kamdevs.
Not amongst gods, men, Asurs, Nagas, or munis
Have we ever heard of such comeliness.
Vishnu has four arms, Vidhi has four heads,
Purari wears such terrifying guise and has five faces—
Another god, dear friend, there is none,
To whom his beauty may be compared.
Of tender years, endowed with charm and beauty,
One dark, the other fair, abodes of bliss—
There is more beauty in their every part,
Than in innumerable gods of love.
(220)
Tell me, dear friend, which being with shape and form
Will not be captivated upon beholding such beauty?’
Said one, in sweet tones full of affection,
‘Listen, my wise friends, to what I have heard—
These two are Dasharath’s sons,
This royal pair of young swans.
They are the protectors of Muni Kaushik’s sacrifice,
And have killed night-wandering demons in the field of battle.
The one with the dark form and lovely lotus eyes,
Who destroyed the arrogance and false conceit of Marich and Subahu,
Kaushalya’s son, and a treasure-house of sweetness and joy,
And who holds the bow and arrows in his hands—his name is Ram.
The fair-complexioned boy attired in the beautiful dhoti,
With the bow and arrows in his hand and who is walking behind Ram—
His name is Lakshman and he is Ram’s younger brother.
His mother, dear friend, is Sumitra.
Having helped the Brahmans,
And on the way, rescued the muni’s wife, the two brothers
Have come here to witness the ceremony of the bow.’
/> Upon hearing this, the women all rejoiced.
(221)
Seeing Ram’s beauty, one of them remarked,
‘This is a bridegroom worthy of Janaki.
Were the king but to see him, my friend,
He will disregard his vow and will insist upon marrying her to him.’
Another replied, ‘The king has acknowledged them,
And with the muni, has received them with honour and respect.
But, my dear, the king will not give up his vow—
In the grip of destiny, he is persisting in his foolishness.’
‘If providence is kind,’ said another,
‘And gives, as we hear, just rewards to everyone,
Then Janaki will most certainly get him as her bridegroom—
In this, my friends, there is no doubt.
Should such a union be brought about by providence,
Everyone’s wishes will be fulfilled,
Oh friend, my impatience grows at the thought
That if this match be made, he may come here again some time.
Otherwise, I tell you, my dear,
It will be impossible for us to see him again.
But this union will only happen
If we ourselves have a great store of merit from our past actions.’
(222)
Another said, ‘You speak rightly, friend—
This marriage will benefit everyone greatly.’
Then one said, ‘Shankar’s bow is hard to string,
And this dark-complexioned boy has a young and slender frame.
So all is still in doubt, my wise friend!’
Hearing this, another young woman replied in sweet tones,
‘Friends, I have heard some people say
That though he is small and slight to look at, his strength is very great.
Touched by the dust of his lotus feet,
Ahalya, who had committed such a grave offence, was saved.
How can such a one fail to break Shiv’s bow?
Do not abandon this conviction or give up faith even by mistake—
Viranchi, who made Sita with such skill and care,
Deliberately created this dark-complexioned bridegroom for her.’
Hearing her words, the others were delighted—
‘May it be so,’ they exclaimed in sweet tones.
Their hearts full of joy, crowds of lovely women with beautiful eyes
Shower flowers,
And wherever the two brothers go,
There is joy supreme.
(223)
Towards the eastern part of the city went the two brothers
Where the ground had been prepared for the ceremony of the bow—
Upon an extensive and handsomely paved floor
A perfect vedika had been constructed.
On all four sides had been built wide golden platforms
Where the kings and princes would be seated.
Close behind, and encircling them on all sides,
Rose more platforms,
A little higher and pleasing in every way,
Where the people of the city might come and sit.
Close to these had been constructed large and beautiful pavilions,
Dazzling white, and painted in many pleasing colours,
From where all the women might view the spectacle,
Seated according to their rank and family.
The children of the city, chattering in sweet voices,
Courteously showed the Lord the preparations that had been made.
On this pretext, all the children,
Enraptured, reached out to touch his heart-enchanting form.
Their bodies thrilling with delight, their hearts rejoicing,
They kept gazing at the two brothers.
(224)
Ram, knowing the children were lost in love for him,
Praised with great affection all the places they had shown him.
As the children, each according to his fancy, called to them,
The two brothers would affectionately go where they were summoned.
Ram showed the arrangements to his younger brother,
Speaking sweet and pleasant words.
He, upon whose instructions Maya
Creates a multitude of worlds in the blink of an eye,
That same merciful Ram, for the sake of his followers,
Looked with awe upon the site prepared for the rite of the bow.
Having seen the sights, they prepared to return to their guru
With fear in their hearts, knowing that they were late.
He, of whom even Fear is afraid,
Thus showed the power of devotion,
And with sweet and gentle words
He bid the reluctant children farewell.
With apprehension, love and humility
And great diffidence, the two brothers
Bowed their heads at the guru’s lotus feet,
And receiving his permission, sat down.
(225)
As night fell, at the muni’s word,
They all performed the evening worship.
Two watches of the bright and beautiful night were spent
In the telling of ancient stories and legends.
The great muni then lay down to sleep,
As the two brothers began to massage his feet.
For the love of whose lotus feet,
Ascetics and holy men practise all kinds of penance and prayer—
Those same two brothers, as if conquered by love,
Affectionately pressed their guru’s lotus feet.
Only upon the muni so ordering him again and again,
Did Raghubar go and lie down.
Lakshman pressed his feet, holding them close to his heart
With reverence and love, feeling supreme joy.
Again and again the Lord said, ‘Sleep, dear brother,’
And so he lay down, still holding those lotus feet to his heart.
When the night had passed, Lakshman arose
Hearing the crowing of the cock.
The lord of the world, all-wise Ram,
Also awoke before their guru.
(226)
After performing all their morning rituals of purification, they bathed
And completing their daily rites, bowed their heads before the muni.
Keeping the hour in mind, and with their guru’s permission,
The two brothers left to gather flowers for the morning worship.
They saw the king’s beautiful garden
Where spring, captivated by its loveliness, permanently tarried.
There grew many kinds of heart-enchanting trees,
And creepers of many colours formed a beautiful canopy.
Covered with fresh new leaves, richly laden with fruit and flowers,
Their bounty put to shame even the tree of the gods.
Chataks, kokils, parrots and chakors
Sweetly cooed and peacocks danced to their song.
In the centre of the garden was a beautiful lake,
Resplendent with jewelled steps of rare and pleasing design.
In its clear waters grew lotuses and lilies of many colours.
Waterbirds called and bees hummed there.
Beholding the garden and the lake,
The Lord and his brother were delighted.
Supremely delightful was this garden
That so delighted Ram, who bestows delight on all.
(227)
They looked around and after seeking the gardeners’ permission,
They began happily gathering leaves and flowers.
At that very moment, Sita arrived—
Her mother had sent her there to worship goddess Girija.
With her were her friends, all lovely and intelligent young girls,
Singing songs in sweet, melodious voices.
Near the lake, stood Girija’s shining temple—
Its splendour was beyond descripti
on and captivated the heart upon sight.
After bathing in the lake with her friends,
She went with a glad heart to Gauri’s shrine.
She performed her worship with deep love and devotion,
And asked for a handsome and suitable bridegroom.
One of her companions had left Sita’s side,
And wandered off to look at the flower garden.
Reaching there, she saw the two brothers,
And, helpless with love, came back to Sita.
Seeing her state,
Her trembling limbs and eyes full of tears,
The friends all asked in kind and gentle tones,
‘Tell us, what is the cause of your joy?’
(228)
‘Two princes have come to see the garden.
They are young, and in every way pleasing and handsome—
One is dark, the other fair-complexioned. But how can I describe their beauty?
Speech has no eyes, and the eyes cannot speak!’
Hearing this, the friends were delighted,
Knowing the intense longing in Sita’s heart.
One of them said, ‘My friend, these must be the king’s sons,
Who, I hear, arrived yesterday with the muni,
And who have cast such a spell with their beauty
That they have captivated all the men and women of the town,
And everywhere, everyone is talking only of their beauty—
We must certainly go and see them, for they are worth a look!’
Her words pleased Sita greatly,
For her eyes were restless to see them.
With that same dear friend leading the way, Sita followed—
No one realized that hers was an old and ancient love.
Recalling Narad’s words, Sita70
Was filled with innocent love
And anxiously looked all around,
Like a frightened fawn.
(229)
Hearing the tinkling of her bangles, girdle and anklets,
Ram thought to himself, then said to Lakshman,
‘It seems as though Madan is sounding his drum,
Having set his mind on conquering the world.’
Saying this, he turned to look in that direction,
His eyes chakor birds gazing at the moon of Sita’s radiant face.
His beautiful eyes grew still, he gazed unblinking,
As though Nimi, abashed, had abandoned his own territory.71