Thus commissioned by Janaka, the envoys, having spent three nights on the way, entered the city of Ayodhyā, with their conveyance afflicted with fatigue. And in accordance with the royal commission, entering the king's residence, they saw the aged king Daçarātha, resembling a celestial. And freed from apprehension, the envoys with clasped hands addressed the monarch in sweetly humble accents, saying,—"O mighty monarch, Mithilā's lord king Janaka, in company with his priests, in sweet and affectionate words, repeatedly enquires after the complete welfare of thyself along with thy priests and servants. And having enquired after thy complete welfare, Mithilā's lord, Vaideha, by permission of Kauçika addresses thee thus,—'Thou knowest the vow I had made formerly—viz, to confer my daughter upon him that would bend the bow,— and the kings, in consequence of their having been deprived of prowess, and being baffled, have come to entertain spite against me. And that daughter of mine, O king, hath been won by thy son arrived here at will, headed by Viçwāmitra. And, O mighty-armed one, that divine, jewelled bow hath been snapped in the middle by the high-souled Rāma in the midst of a large assembly. And upon that high-souled one should I confer Sitā, having prowess assigned for her dower, And in this wise will I free myself from my vow; and this thou shouldst permit. And, O mighty king, do thou, good betide thee, come speedily, headed by thy priests. It behoveth thee to see the Rāghavas; and, O foremost of kings, to see me delivered from this vow. And do thou attain the joy incident to the nuptials of both thy sons,'—thus spoke sweetly the lord of Videha, permitted by Viçwāmitra and staying by the opinions of Satānanda." Hearing the words of the envoys, the king, exceedingly rejoiced, addressed Vasishtha and Vāmadeva, as well as his counsellors, saying,— "Protected by Kuçika's son, that enhancer of Kauçalyā's joy stayeth in Videha in company with his brother Lakshmana. And the high-souled Janaka hath witnessed the prowess of Kākutstha; and he wisheth to bestow his daughter upon Rāghava. If this alliance with the high-souled Janaka is relished by ye, we shall speedily repair to his capital. Let there be no waste of time." Thereupon, the counsellors along with the Maharshis said,—"Excellent!' And the king highly delighted, said unto the counsellors,—"Our journey commenceth on the morrow." And excellently ministered unto, the counsellors of that foremost of monarchs (Janaka), endowed with every excellent quality, spent that night in joy.
SECTION LXIX.
Then when the night had been spent, king Daçarātha accompanied with his priests and adherents, well pleased spoke unto Sumantra, saying,—"To-day let the officers in charge of the treasury, taking plenty of excellent wealth, and furnished with various gems, go in advance under proper escort. And let the four-fold forces sally out with speed. And at my command let horses and conveyances and elegant vehicles march out. And let Vasishtha and Vāmadeva and Jāvāli and Kaçyapa and Mārkandeya endowed with long life and the saint Kātyāyana—let these regenerate ones go forward. And do thou also yoke my car. Let not the proper time pass away; for the envoys urge speed upon me." At these words of the king, the four-fold forces together with the saints went in the wake of the monarch. And after bar- ing passed four days on the way, they arrived at Videha.
And hearing of Daçarātha's arrival, the auspicious king Janaka experienced great delight, and having obtained the aged king Daçarātha, he honored him duly.[94] And that best one (Janaka) spoke words unto that delighted chief of men. "Hath thy journey been a pleasant one, O best of men? By luck have I obtained thee, O descendant of Raghu. Do thou experience the joy earned by the prowess of thy sons. And by luck it is that I have obtained the highly energetic and worshipful saint Vashistha accompanied by the foremost regenerate ones, like him of an hundred sacrifices, by the celestials. By luck it is that I have overcome the obstacle; by luck it is that my race hath attained renown,in consequence of alliance with those endowed with prowess, the exceedingly potent Rāghavas. O lord of men, to-morrow morning, after the completion of the sacrifice, do thou perform the nuptials, in company with the foremost of the saints." Hearing his speech in the midst of the saints, that best of those conversant with words, the lord of men, replied unto the monarch, saying,—"A gift should be accepted,—this I heard formerly. And what thou sayest, O thou cognizant of duty, will we accomplish." Hearing these words of the truthful (king), chiming in with morality and conducive to fame, the lord of Videha was filled with admiration. Then the ascetics experiencing great delight, passed the night happily in each other's company. And the king, overjoyed on beholding his sons, the Rāghavas—passed (the night) in exceeding delight, splendidly entertained of Janaka. And the exceedingly energetic Janaka also, versed in men and things, having in accordance with the ordinance completed the sacrifice and performed all the preliminary rites relative to the nuptials of his daughters, reposed for the night.
SECTION LXX.
Then next morning Janaka skilled in speech, having in company with the Maharshis performed his daily duties, addressed the priest Satānanda, saying,—"My highly energetic, puissant and eminently righteous brother known by the name of Kusādhwaja dwelleth in the auspicious city, Sānkāçyā, whose ramparts are ranged round with pointed weapons, and which is laved by the river Ikshumati, and which resembles the celestial regions or the aerial car, Pushpaka. I wish to see him, and he is in charge of my sacrifice. And that highly energetic one will partake with me the joy of this occasion." This having been said unto Satānanda, some competent persons presented themselves; and Janaka commanded them (to set out) for Sānkāçyā. And commanded by the monarch, off they went, mounting on fleet coursers, with the view of bringing over that best among men, like Vishnu at the mandate of Indra. And arriving at Sānkāçyā, they presented themselves before Kuçadhwaja, and faithfully delivered unto him the intention of Janaka. And hearing the tidings conveyed by those foremost of envoys endowed with great fleetness, Kuçadhwaja set out at the mandate of the monarch. And on coming to Videha, he appeared before the high-souled Janaka addicted to righteousness. And saluting Satānanda as well as the eminently virtuous Janaka, he sat down on an excellent and superb seat worthy of a king. And having been seated, both the heroic brothers of immeasurable splendour addressed that foremost of counsellors, Sudāmana, saying,—"Go, foremost of counsellors, and speedily bring over the irrepressible Ikshwāku of immeasurable splendour along with his sons and ministers." Thereupon, repairing to the camp he saw that enhancer of the race of the Raghus, and saluting him with bended head, addressed him,—"O heroic lord of Ayodhyā, Vaideha, the master of Mithilā, hath wished to see thee along with thy priests." Hearing the words of that best of counsellors, the king accompanied by the saints and his adherents came to Janaka. And in company with his counsellors, and preists and adherents, the king-foremost of those skilled in speech—spoke unto Vaideha, saying,—"O mighty king, tbow knowest that the worshipful saint Vasishtha is the spiritual guide of our race; and in every ceremony that we undertake, he it is who serves the function of a spokesman. And permitted by Viçwāmitra along with all the Māharshis, even this one of a righteous soul will relate my genealogy." And on Daçarātha resuming silence, the worshipful saint Vasishtha, versed in speech, spoke unto Vaideha in company with his priests, saying—"The perpetual, everlasting, and undeteriorating Brahmā sprang from the Unmanifest (Brahmā). From him sprang Maricha; and Kaçyapa is son unto Maricha. And from Kaçyapa sprung Vivaswat; and Manu is son unto Vivasvvat.[95] This Manu is otherwise called Prajipati; and Ikshwāku is Manu's son. And this Ikshwāku, thou must understand, was the first king of Ayodhyā And Ikshwāku's son, it is well known, was the graceful Kukshi. And Kukshi's son was the graceful Vikukshi.[96] And Vikukshi's son was the exceedingly energetic and powerful Vāna. And Vāna's son was the highly energetic and powerful Anaranya. From Anaranya sprang Prithu; and from Prithu, Trisanku. And Trisanku's son was the highly famous Dhundumāra. And from Dhundumāra sprung the Mahāratha, Yuvanaçya. And from Yuvanācya sprung Māndhātā, lord of earth. And Māndhātā's son was the graceful Susandhi. And Susandhi's two sons were Dhruvasandhi and Prasenajit. And from Dhruvasandhi sprung the famous Bharata. And from Bharata sprung Asita; to fight whom were born as hostile kings, those heroes, the Haihayas, the Tālajanghas, and the Sasavindas. And engaged in conflict with them, that king fled (from his kingdom); and repairing to the Himavat in company with his two consorts, the feeble Asita there paid his debt to Nature. The story runs that his two wives were in the family-way; and that with the intention of destroying the embryo of the other, one of them administered poison unto the former mixed in her food. And it came to pass that at this time, Bhrigu's son, the ascetic Chyavana, had become addicted to the romantic Himavat— foremost of mountains. And here one of these exalted dames with eyes resembling lotus-petals, saluting Bhrigu's son shining like a celestial, desired of him an excellent son. And drawing near unto that sage, Kālindi saluted him. And that Vipra said unto her, who was desiring of having a son born of her,—"In thy womb, O exalted one, will be speedily born an excellent son mixed up with poison, highly powerful, and exceedingly energetic, and possessed of mighty strength, and graceful. Therefore, do thou not grieve, O thou of lotus-eyes." And having paid reverence unto Chyavana, that chaste and worshipful princess, although bereft of her husband, gave birth to a son. And since intending to destroy her foetus she that was co-wife with her had administered poison unto her, Sagara[97] was born together with the poison.
And Sagara's son was Asamanja,and Asamanja's Ançumāt. And Dilipa was son unto Ançumāt, and Bhagiratha unto Dilipa. And from Bhagiratha sprang Kākutstha, and from Kākutstha, Raghu. And Raghu's son was the puissant Pravridha, feeding on human flesh; and he came finally to be known by the name of Kalmāshapāda.[98] And from him sprung Sankhana. And Sudarçana was Sankhana's, and Agnivarna was Sudarçana's son. And Sighraga was Agnivarna's, and Maru was Sighraga's son. And Maru's son was Praçucruka, and from Praçucruka sprung Amvarisha. And Amvarisha's son was Nahusha, lord of earth. And Nahusha's son was Yayāti, and Yayāti's was Nābhāga. And Nābhāga's son was Aja, and from Aja sprung Daçarātha. And from this Daçarātha have come the brothers Rāma and Lakshmana. And it is in the interests of Rāma and Lakshmana belonging to the heroic and truthful and pious Sovereigns sprung in the Ikshwāku line, and possessing purity of race even from the time of their founder, that, O king, we solicit the hands of thy daughters. And, O foremost of men, it behoveth thee to confer like brides upon like bridegrooms."
SECTION LXXI.
When Vasishtha had spoken thus, Janaka with clasped hands answered unto him, saying,—"It behoveth thee to listen unto our genealogy as related by myself. In the matter of disposal of daughters, O foremost of anchorets, one's own line should be described by one boasting of a noble ancestry. Do thou then, O mighty-minded one, listen to the same. There was a king famed over the three worlds by his own acts—Nimi—eminently pious and the foremost of those endowed with strength. And his son was named Mithi, and Mithi's son was Janaka. And from this king Janaka have we derived that word as applied to every one of us. And from Janaka sprang Udāvasu; and Udāvasu's son was the pious-souled Nandivardhana. And Nandivardhan's son was the heroic Suketu. And Suketu's son was the mighty and righteous Devarāta. And the Rajarshi Devarāta's son was Vrihadratha. And Vrihadratha's son was the heroic and puissant Mahāvira. And Mahāvira's son was Sudhriti, endowed with fortitude and having truth for prowess. And Sudhriti's son was the pious-spirited and eminently righteous Dhritaketu. And the Rajarshi Dhritaketu's son was Haryyaçya. And Haryyaçya's son was Maru; and Maru's son was Pratindhaka. And Pratindhaka's son was the righteous king Kirtiratha. And Kirtiratha* s son was Devamirha, and Devamirha's, Vibudha, and Vibudha's Mahidhraka. And Mahidhraka's son was king Kirtiratha endowed with great strength. And the Rājarshi Kirtiratha had Mohāromā born unto him; and Mohāromā, the virtuous Sarnaromā. And the Rājarshi Sarnaromā had Hraswaromā born unto him. And this high-souled king conversant with morality had two sons: the elder, myself, the younger, even my brother, the heroic Kuçadhwaja. And installing in the kingdom myself, who was the elder son, and consigning unto my care Kuçadhwaja, our father sought the forest. And on my aged sire ascending heaven, I righteously ruled the kingdom and cherished my brother Kuçadhwaja resembling a celestial, with the eye of affection. And it came to pass that on one occasion a certain powerful king named Sudhanwā came from the city of Sankaçya before Mithilā intending to lay seige to it. And he sent word unto me, saying,—'Do thou give me the all-excellent bow of Sivā, as well as thy daughter, the lotus-eyed Sitā'. And in consequence of my not granting him either, king Sudhanwā, O Brahmarshi, entered into hostilities with me; but he was both defeated and slain by me in the encounter. And, O foremost of ascetics, slaying king Sudhanwā, I installed in Sankaçya my heroic brother Kuçadhwaja. This one, O mighty anchoret, is my younger brother, and I am his elder. O powerful ascetic, well pleased will I confer on thee these as thy daughters-in-law,—Sitā on Rāma, good betide thee, and Urmilā on Lakshmana. And, I take oath thrice that, without doubt, I will with a glad heart confer upon thee, O potent ascetic, as thy daughters- in-law my second daughter Urmilā and also Sitā resembling the daughter of a celestial, having prowess assigned for her dower. Do thou now, O king, perform the ceremony Godana of the nuptials of Rāma and Lakshmana; and also perform their ancestral rites, good unto thee; and then complete the marriage ceremony. To-day the star Maghā is on the ascendant. On the third day, my master, when the Phālguna will be on north, do thou, O monarch, perform the marriage ceremony. Do thou now, however, dispense gifts for invoking blessings upon Rāma and Lakshmana."