SECTION LXXII.
And it came to pass that the day on which the king made excellent presents of kine, the heroic Yudhājit, son unto the lord of the Kekayas and maternal uncle unto Bharata, presented himself before Daçarātha. And having seen the king and enquired after his welfare, he said unto him,—"The lord of the Kekayas hath from affection enquired after thy welfare, saying,—'They of whose peace thou art anxious, are at present well.' And, O foremost of kings, desirous of seeing my nephew (Bharata) that lord of earth repaired to Ayodhyā, O descendant of Raghu. And learning at Ayodhyā that thy sons for the purpose of marriage had, O monarch, come to Mithilā with thyself, I have speedily hied hither, with the intention of seeing my sister's son."
Then king Daçarātha, on having that dear guest with him, rendered unto him all the respect that he deserved. Then having passed the night in company with his high-souled sons, that one versed in men and things arose in the morning, and having disposed of his daily duties, approached the entrance of the sacrificial ground, headed by the saints. Then at an auspicious moment called Vijaya, Rāma with Vasishtha as well as other Maharshis at his head, and accompanied by his brothers adorned with various ornaments, who had all performed the rites relative to their nuptials, (approached the entrance of the sacrificial ground). Then the worshipful Vasishtha, coming unto Vaideha, spake as follows,—“King Daçarātha, O foremost of sovereigns—that chief among the best of men—accompanied with his sons, who have performed all the rites relative to their nuptials, stayeth the orders of the bestower (of the bride); for the meeting of the giver and the receiver is indispensable to every transaction (of this nature). Do thou therefore maintain thy merit by accomplishing this excellent nuptial ceremony." Thus addressed by the high-souled Vasishtha, that exceedingly generous and energetic one versed in morality answered, saying,—"Who acts as my warder there? And whose commands doth he stay? And what need of exercising judgment in entering one's own house? As this kingdom is mine, so it is verily thine. O foremost of anchorets, my daughters resembling flames of fire, having performed all the rites relative to the incoming nuptials, are at the foot of the dais; and, sitting beside the dais, I myself had been expecting thee every moment. Do thou perform everything without let. What need of delaying further?" Hearing those words uttered by Janaka, Daçarātha entered in together with his sons and the body of saints. Then unto the king of the Videhas, Vasishtha spake as follows,—"O saint, do thou, O pious one, in company with the saints perform, O master, the nuptial ceremonies of Rāma charming unto all." Thereupon, saying,—"So be it" unto Janaka, the worshipful saint Vasishtha of mighty austerities with Viçwāmitra and the pious Satānanda in his front, constructed a dais agreeably to the scriptures, decking it out with fragrant flowers all around, and golden ladles, and variegated water- pots, and platters with ears of barley, and censers filled with Dkupa, and conchs, and sacrificial spoons, and vessels furnished with Arghyas, and those containing fried paddy, and sanctified Akshatas. And over the dais, Vasishtha with due mantras and rites spread an awning consisting of Darvas of equal proportions. And with prescribed rites and mantras placing fire upon the dais, the highly energetic one commenced upon offering oblations. Then bringing Sitā adorned with various ornaments near the fire, and placing her before Rāghava, king Janaka addressed the enhancer of Kauçalya's joy, saying,—"This Sitā, my daughter, do thou accept, good betide thee, as thy partner in the observance of every duty: do thou take her hand by thine. May she be of exalted piety, and devoted to her husband; ever following thee like thy shadow!" saying this, the king sprinkled Rāma's palm with water sanctified with mantras; with the celestials and saints exclaiming,—"Excellent! Excellent!" And the celestial kettle-drums sounded, and blossoms began to shower down copiously. Having thus given away his daughter Sitā, with water and mantras, king Janaka overflowing with delight, said,—"Come forward, O Lakshmana, good unto thee. Receive thou Urmilā ready to be bestowed by me upon thee. Do thou accept her hand: let there be no delay about it." Having addressed Lakshmana thus, Janaka spake unto Bharata, saying,—"Do thou, O descendant of Raghu, take Mandavyā's hand by thine own." And the righteous lord of Mithilā spake also unto Satrughna, saying,—"Do thou, O thou of mighty arms, take Srutakirti's hand by thine own. May ye all be good, and vowed unto excellent life! and be, ye Kākutsthas, ye united with your wives. Let there be no delay about it." Hearing Janaka's speech, those four perpetuators of Raghu's line, staying by Vasishtha's opinions, taking the hands of the four brides with their owil, went round the sacrificial fire, and the dais, and the king, and the high-souled saints; and in company with their wives, agreeably to direction entered into matrimony in accordance with the ordinance. And there was a mighty shower of shining blossoms from the firmament accompanied with the sounds of celestial kettle-drums, and choiring and instrumental music. And the Apsarās danced and the Gandharbas sang melodiously, at the bridal of the foremost of the Raghus. And this seemed wonderful to witness. And to the blowing of trumpets, those exceedingly puissant ones, thrice going round the fire, in company with their wives went to the encampment. And the king,having seen that all the auspicious ceremonies were performed, went in their wake, accompanied by the sages and his adherents.