Baal Kaanda
57 - Return of the marriage procession to Ayodhya and rejoicing in the city
Chaupais
Description
The king's palace looked very charming on that occasion; its decoration captivated the heart of Cupid himself. It looked as if auspicious omens and loveliness; affluence and mystic powers, joys and smiling prosperity and all kinds of rejoicings had assumed a naturally beautiful form and taken their abode in the palace of King Dasaratha. Tell me who would not feel tempted to have a look at Sri Rama and Videha's Daughter? Married women, whose husbands were alive, sallied forth in troops, each eclipsing Love's consort (Rati) by her beauty. They all carried articles of good omen and were equipped with lights for waving round the bridegrooms. As they moved along singing all the way, it appeared as if Goddess Bharati (the goddess of speech) had appeared in so many forms. The king's palace was full of hilarious tumult; the joy of the occasion was ineffable. Kausalya and other mothers of Sri Rama were so overwhelmed with emotion that they forgot their own body.