by Tulsidas
The marvellous pavilion, impossible to describe,
With its countless heart-enchanting jewel-studded lamps,
The canopy meant for Vaidehi as a bride—
Which poet has the ability to describe it?
The pavilion erected for the bridegroom Ram, ocean of beauty and virtue,
Shone brightest in the three worlds.
Each and every house in the city reflected
The same splendour as in Janak’s palace.
Even the fourteen spheres seemed small and insignificant
To him who beheld Terahutilxxv at that time,
And the wealth gracing even the humblest homes was such
That looking upon it, even Indra, king of the gods, was enchanted.
Even Sharada and Shesh hesitate
To describe the splendour and grace
Of that city in which Lakshmi resides
In the secret guise of a beautiful woman.
(289)
Janak’s messengers reached Ram’s sacred city,
And rejoiced to see the beautiful town.
At the palace gate, they announced their arrival,
And King Dasharath heard and sent for them.
They saluted him and gave him the letter,
The king, delighted, himself stood up to receive it.
Upon reading the letter, his eyes filled with tears,
His body trembled with joy and his breast heaved with emotion.
With Ram and Lakshman in his heart and the precious letter in his hand,
The king stood unable to utter a word, either sour or sweet.
Then, collecting himself, he read out the letter,
And the gathered assembly rejoiced to hear what it said.
Receiving news of the letter while at play,
Bharat came with his brother and his friends,
And asked with deep affection and humility,
‘Father, where has the letter come from?
Are my two dear brothers well?
And tell me, what land are they in?’
Hearing his words so steeped in love,
The king read out the letter again.
(290)
Hearing the letter, the two brothers were overjoyed,
And could not contain their great love for Ram and Lakshman.
Seeing Bharat’s pure and unalloyed love,
The entire court was especially pleased and delighted.
Then the king bade the messengers be seated near him
And said to them in sweet and pleasant tones,
‘Friends, tell me, are the two boys well?
You have seen them with your own eyes, have you not?
One is dark, the other fair-complexioned, each carries a bow and quiver,
They are of tender years, and with Muni Kaushik.
Do you recognize them? If so, tell me how they are.’
The king, overwhelmed by love, asked thus again and again.
‘Since the day that the muni took them away,
I have received firm news of them only today.
Tell me how Videh recognized them.’
Hearing these affectionate words, the messengers smiled.
‘Listen, crown jewel of kings,
There is no one as blessed as you,
Whose sons are Ram and Lakshman,
The two ornaments of this world.
(291)
You do not need to inquire after your sons—
They are lions amongst men and the light of the three worlds,
Before the glowing brilliance of whose fame,
The moon seems dim and the sun cold.
You ask, lord, how they were recognized—
Does one hold a lamp in one’s hand to see the sun?
At Sita’s svayamvar gathered many kings and princes,
Each a warrior better than the other.
Yet no one could move Shambhu’s bow,
And all those great warriors stood defeated.
Shambhu’s bow broke the strength
Of the proudest warriors in the three worlds.
Even Banasur, who can lift up Mount Meru,
Acknowledged defeat in his heart and, merely circling the bow, departed.
And he who in play had once picked up Shiv’s mountain,
Even that Ravan was defeated in that gathering.
But there—listen well, great king of the earth—
Ram, the jewel of the line of Raghu,
Broke the bow without effort
As an elephant snaps a lotus stalk.
(292)
Hearing of this, Bhrigunayak, furious, came,
And raged and threatened him in many ways.
Recognizing Ram’s strength, he gave him his own bow,
Then, with humble apologies, withdrew to the forest.
King, just as Ram is unparalleled in strength,
In Lakshman too resides might and glory—
At his glance alone the other kings and princes trembled
Like elephants at a young lion’s gaze.
Lord, having beheld your two sons
Our eyes can regard no one else.’
Steeped in affection, and so generous and gallant,
These words of the messengers pleased everyone greatly.
The king and his court took a great liking to them
And began to shower the messengers with gifts.
But the messengers covered their ears and cried, ‘This is not right!’
Seeing their proper and decorous conduct, the gathering rejoiced.85
The king rose and went to Vasishtha,
And gave him the letter.
Courteously summoning the messengers there,
He related the full story to his guru.
(293)
Hearing it, the guru was overjoyed and said,
‘For a good man, the world is filled with happiness.
Just as rivers flow into the ocean
Though it has no desire for them,
So happiness and prosperity come unbidden
And spontaneously to a virtuous man.
You are assiduous in the service of your guru, of Brahmans, cows and gods,
And Queen Kaushalya is equally pious and pure.
In this world, souls as virtuous and good as you
There are none, nor have there been or ever will be.
Who can be blessed with happiness greater than yours,
King, you who have a son like Ram?
Brave, obedient and mindful of dharma,
Your four boys are oceans of virtue.
For you, all times are propitious,
So make ready the wedding procession, sound the drums.
And make haste!’ At his guru’s words,
The king bowed his head and said, ‘Very well, lord.’
After assigning the messengers places to stay,
The king returned to his palace.
(294)
The king summoned all the royal women
And read out Janak’s letter to them.
Hearing the news, the women all rejoiced,
And the king related to them the full story.
The queens were as overjoyed at the news
As peahens hearing the rumble of rain-clouds.
The elder women of the royal household, delighted, gave their blessings,
And the three mothers were overwhelmed with happiness.
They passed the precious letter amongst themselves,
Pressing it to their bosoms to calm their hearts.
While Dasharath, noblest of all kings, recounted again and again
The glorious deeds of Ram and Lakshman.
‘All this is by the grace of the muni,’ said the king, departing.
The queens then summoned the gods of the earth,
And bestowed upon them gifts with great joy.
Uttering blessings in return, the noble Brahmans left.
They then sent for the mendicants
And gave the
m alms and countless gifts of many kinds.
‘Long live the four sons of Dasharath,
Monarch of the universe!’
(295)
Cried the mendicants as they left, attired in new clothes of various kinds.
The drummers, rejoicing, beat their drums loudly,
And as the news reached all the people,
Celebrations and revelry broke out in every house.
All the fourteen spheres were filled with glad delight—
‘Janak’s daughter is marrying Raghubir!’
Hearing these happy and auspicious tidings, the people were filled with joy
And began decorating roads, houses, lanes and alleyways.
Although Avadh is always a pleasant and charming place,
For it is Ram’s own city, prosperous and pure,
It was made even more festive,
By the love its people bore for Ram, who is love personified.
Bright flags, pennants, banners and chowries
Made a canopy over the marketplaces in rare and wondrous fashion;
With auspicious pitchers made of gold, festoons and jewelled nets for doorways,
Turmeric, sacred dub grass, curds, unbroken rice and garlands of flowers,
The people decorated their homes
And made them festive and happy;
They sprinkled the roads with fragrant perfumes,
And at the entrances to their homes, drew auspicious squares filled with pretty designs.
(296)
Everywhere, crowds of women gathered,
Shining with all the sixteen adornments, glittering like lightning,
With faces as radiant as the moon, fawn-like eyes,
And beauty that made even Rati give up her pride.
They sang wedding songs in such melodious voices
That hearing their sweet tones, even the sweet-throated kokil was too shy to sing.
And how was the royal palace to be described?
There, a pavilion to enchant the world had been built,
Countless auspicious and heart-enchanting objects
Glittered and shone, while drums sounded deep and loud.
Here, bards and minstrels related the glory of the royal families,
While there, Brahmans chanted the Vedas.
Beautiful women sang songs of joy and good fortune
Invoking again and again the names of Ram and Sita.
The excitement was great, the palace too small to contain it—
The joy seemed to overflow in all the four directions.
Which poet can describe
The splendour of Dasharath’s palace
Where Ram, the jewel of the gods,
Had descended to earth?
(297)
Then the king called Bharat to him, and said,
‘Go prepare horses, elephants and chariots
And let’s leave at once with Raghubir’s wedding procession.’
Hearing these words, the two brotherslxxvi were thrilled.
Bharat sent for all the men in charge of the stables
And gave his orders. Delighted, they hastened to carry them out,
And fitted the horses with saddles and bridles that had been crafted with great care—
Soon, fine horses of many colours stood splendidly accoutred.
All handsome and spirited, the horses
Trod the ground as lightly as though it were burning iron.
They were of various breeds, too numerous to describe;
It seemed they wished to fly, leaving the wind behind.
Upon them mounted all the dashing young fellows,
Princes the same age as Bharat,
All handsome and comely, and all in jewelled attire,
With bows and arrows in their hands, and heavy quivers at their waists.
All were merry, comely, graceful youths,
Chosen warriors, skilled and valiant,
And with each rider were two men on foot,
Accomplished in the use of swords.
(298)
Sworn to honour, these warriors resolute in war
Set forth and stood waiting outside the city.
Leading their clever steeds through their various paces,
They rejoiced in the sound of drums and tabors.
Charioteers made their chariots bright and colourful
With flags, pennants, gems and jewels,
And decorated them with pretty chowries and little tinkling bells
So that they robbed the sun-god’s chariot of its splendour.
There were innumerable black-eared horses—86
These the charioteers yoked to the chariots—
All so beautiful and gorgeously adorned,
That looking at them, even a saint would be charmed.
They could race across water as if it were land,
Their hooves not sinking, so great was their speed.
After preparing the chariots with arms and equipment
The charioteers then summoned the warriors,
Who, one by one, mounted the chariots,
And the wedding procession assembled outside the city.
All saw good omens favouring the task
To accomplish which they were going.
(299)
Upon great elephants were magnificent canopies
So splendidly adorned as cannot be described.
Those mighty elephants set off, their great bells ringing
Like banks of rumbling rain clouds in the month of Savan.
There were many other kinds of conveyances—
Handsome palanquins and comfortable sedan chairs—
In which rode the companies of the learned Brahmans
As though all the verses of the Vedas had taken on bodily form.
Poets, bards, minstrels and singers of songs of praise
Went mounted on other vehicles, each according to his rank,
While heavily laden mules, camels and oxen of many breeds
Plodded along, with innumerable goods and articles upon their backs.
Countless porters accompanied them, bundles slung across their shoulders—
Who can describe the diverse articles they carried?
And crowds of servants set off in groups,
All appropriately attired and equipped.
The hearts of all were filled with great joy,
And their bodies trembled with excitement.
‘When will we see those two brave heroes, Ram and Lakshman,
And fill our eyes with the sight?’
(300)
Elephants trumpeted, their great bells clanging loudly,
On all sides was the din of chariots and the neighing of horses,
While the rumble of drums was louder than thunder
So that no one could hear himself or another speak.
So enormous and dense was the crowd at the king’s door,
That a stone thrown into it would be trampled to dust.
Women climbed onto balconies and terraces to look down at the scene,
Holding in their hands festive arti trays,
And singing heart-enchanting songs of many kinds—
There is so much joy as cannot be described.
Then Sumantra, the king’s trusted councilor and charioteer, made ready two chariots
And yoked to them horses that could outrun the sun’s own steeds.
He brought the two beautiful chariots to the king—
So splendid were they that even Sharada could not describe them.
One chariot was decorated with the royal insignia,
While the other glittered with fiery splendour.
Upon this gleaming and handsome chariot
The king joyfully seated Vasishtha.
He himself climbed into the other chariot,
Invoking Har, his guru, Gauri and Ganesh.
(301)
The king with Vasishtha was as glorious
As Purandar with Brihaspati.87
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The king performed all the rites of his lineage and those prescribed by the Vedas,
Then, making sure that everyone was in every way ready,
Invoking Ram, and receiving the permission of his guru,
The lord of the earth set forth to the sound of the conch.
The gods rejoiced to see the wedding procession,
And rained down beautiful flowers, conferring good fortune upon them.
There was a tumultuous din as horses whinnied and elephants trumpeted
And music sounded in the sky and in the wedding procession.
Women, divine and mortal, broke out in songs of joy,
While shehnais played sweet and melodious tunes.
The clanging and ringing of bells big and small defied description.
Performers on foot waved swords and flags and leapt about in displays of martial games,
Jesters, adept in drollery and singing clever songs,
Performed merry tricks and pranks.
Noble princes made their horses prance
To the beat of the drums and mridangs,
As accomplished dancers watched, astonished
That the horses did not place a foot out of time.
(302)
The wedding procession was so splendid and grand that it defied description.
Beautiful and auspicious omens of good fortune were everywhere—
On the left, a blue-throat88 pecked for food,
As though declaring that all was well.
Upon the right was a crow in a lush, green field,
And the mongoose, too, was seen by all.
A cool, fragrant and gentle breeze blew from the right direction,
And a beautiful woman carrying a pitcher and a baby approached.
A fox turned again and again to show itself,
While ahead, a cow nursed her calf.
A row of deer appeared on the right
Like a line of good omens.
A white-headed kite called out blessings and good fortune.
Upon the left a shyama bird was seen, perched upon a handsome tree.
Seen approaching in front was a man with curds and fish,
And two learned Brahmans, with books in their hands.
All omens conferring prosperity and well-being
And bestowing desired rewards,
All occurred at once,
As though to confirm their own truth.
(303)