Baal Kaanda
57 - Return of the marriage procession to Ayodhya and rejoicing in the city
Chaupais
Description
Having shown everyone all possible honour the king, whose heart was overbrimming with joy, visited the private apartments and beheld the princes with their brides. He gladly took the boys in his arms and experienced a thrill of joy which nobody could tell. Similarly he affectionately seated the brides in his lap and fondled them again and again with a heart full of rapture. The ladies of the gynaeceum were delighted to behold this spectacle; the heart of everyone became an abode of joy. The king related how the wedding had taken place and everyone was delighted to hear the account. The goodness, amiability, nobility, loving nature and the splendid wealth of King Janaka were extolled by King Dasaratha in a variety of ways even as a rhapsodist would do; and the queens were enraptured to hear the record of his doings.