Individual verses with meanings
Hari Om.
Let us begin the sixty eighth sarga of the bAlakAnDam with offering our prostrations at the lotus feet of SrIrAma and our sathguru.
The long unfulfilled vow of king janaka to offer his darling daughter sIta in marriage to a worthy suitor who strings the divine bow of Siva at once met with fulfilment as soon as rAma saw the bow. The ace archer that rAma is, in one go, he lifted the bow, strung it and as he twanged, it broke into two pieces bring glad tidings with jinglings of wedding bells in the janaka family. The emissaries from mithila set off to ayOdhya on royal orders to break the news to king daSaratha and escort him to mithila for the wedding of rAma and sIta. Onwards…
On the orders of king janaka, the emissaries set off for mithila on swift horses. After traveling for three days they reached ayOdhya with their tired horses. Having reached the royal court, they signed in at the gate keepers and asked them to convey to the king that emissaries from mithila would like to see him immediately. The guards immediately secured the approval of the king and the emissaries entered the court and beheld the old king daSaratha who looked verily like a god.
They bowed down to the king and addressed him thus in sweet words – “king of mithila, janaka, the one always propitiating the fire god, conveys his most loving and affectionate enquiries of well being repeatedly to you, your preceptors and attendants. Having enquired your welfare with sweet words, with the approval of kauSika (viSwAmitra) he conveys the following message to you –
“My vow and resolve about offering my daughter in wedding to a worthy suitor who strings the divine bow of Siva is well known to everyone. Many a king attempted to do so and miserably failed and after the failure developed enmity towards me. That seemingly impossible feat of stringing the bow has been achieved by your son during their casual visit to my palace along with sage viSwAmitra and thus sIta has been won (by rAma). The great rAma in full view of my court, lifted the bow holding it in the middle, strung it and broke it! Therefore rAma is the worthy suitor for sIta and I propose to give her in marriage to him and pray for your consent to the proposal.
O mighty king, stay blessed, kindly come along with your family, friends and preceptors to mithila. It shall bring me limitless joy to host you. You shall be greatly pleased to see your mighty sons rAma and lakshmaNa. Thus the king of mithila, janaka spoke in the presence and with the consent of both viSwAmitra and Satananda.” Having conveyed the eloquent message of king janaka, the emissaries paused in the apprehension of a monologue out of respect for the king.
King daSaratha was thrilled to hear the message of king janaka and the exploits of his darling son rAma. He immediately summoned the preceptors vasisTha and vAmadEva as also the ministers and said – ” rAma, the enhancer of kausalya’s joy along with lakshmaNa are under the care of sage viSwAmitra and they are currently in the vidEha country. Having witnessed the valour of rAma, king janaka has proposed to give his daughter sIta in marriage to him. If this proposal is acceptable to you all, we shall soon set off for the vidEha country, let there be no delay”. All of the counsellors instantly accepted the proposal and the king was in raptures at the unanimous approval of king janaka’s proposal and he declared that “we shall start for mithila tomorrow”.
The ministers of daSartha endowed with superlative qualities spent that night happily having been honoured by the king.
Here we conclude the sixty eighth sarga of the bAla kAnDam of SrImath vAlmiKi rAmAyaNam and humbly offer it at the lotus feet of SrIrAma. Hari: Om!
jAi SrIrAma.
Next: 1.69. The wedding party reaches mithila
rAmabhaktisAmrAjyam 