Doha - 241
after fondly embracing riqusudana (Satrughna) Sri Rama met the Nisada chief. Even so with profuse love Bharata embraced Laksmana while the latter was greeting him.
Likewise Laksmana eagerly met his younger brother (Satrughna) and next clasped the Nisada chief to bosom. Then the two brothers (Bharata and Satrughna) greeted the host of hermits and were delighted to receive blessings to their liking. In a rapture of love Bharata and his younger brother (Satrughna)placed on their head the dust of Sita's lotus feet and made obeisance to Her again and again; while she lifted them each time and stroking their head with Her lotus hand made them sit down. Sita blessed them in Her heart; She was so overwhelmed with love that She lost all consciousness of Her body. When they found Sita propitious in everyway, they became free from anxiety and the imaginary fears of their heart were gone. No one uttered a word nor asked any question; the mind was so full of love that it had stopped its activity. Presently the Nisada chief collected himself and bowing his head submitted with joined palms:
Doha - 242
"Strickedn with grief due to separation from you, my all your mothers, the people of the city servants, generals and ministers, all have come along with the lord of sages, Vasistha."
Chaupala
When the Ocean of amiability, Sri learnt that His preceptor had come, He left Ripudamana (Satrughna) by Sita's side and the All-merciful proceeded at once with quich steps, a champion of virtue and self-possessed that He was. On seeing the Guru both the Lord and His younger brother (Laksmana) were overwhelmed with affection and prostrated themselves on the ground. The chief of sages, however, ran and clasped them to his bosom. he received them with a heart overflowing with love. Thrilling all over with emotioning his name the Nisada chief too fell prostrate on the ground at a respectable distance. The sage, however, forcibly embraced him as a friend of Sri Rama; if seemed as though he had gathered up love lying scattered on the ground. "Devotion to the Lord of Raghus is the root of all choice blessings!" With these words of praise the gods in heaven rained flowers. "There is no one so vile as this man; and who is so great as Vasistha in this world?''
Doha - 243
"Yet on seeing him the king of sages embraced him with greater joy than he did Laksmana Such is the palpable glory and effect of adorning Sita's lord!"
Sri Rama, the all-compassionate and all-wise Lord, found all the people restless; and therefore, meeting the wish of everyone according to the sentiment each cherished in his heart. He and His younger brother met them all in an instant and relieved their distress and terrible agony. This was no great achievement for Sri Rama: the sun would as well cast its reflection in millions of jars (full of water) simultaneously. All the citizens the Nisada chief with a heart overflowing with love and praised his good fortune. Sri Rama found all His mothers as stricken with grief as a row of tender creepers that had been smitten by frost, First of all He met Kaikeyi, and softened her mind by His guileless disposition and devotion. He fell at her feet and then soothed her attributin the blame to the wheel of time, destiny and Providence.
Doha - 244
The Chief of Raghu's line thereafter met all His mothers and consoled them by exhorting them in the follwing words: "Mother the world is controlled by the will of God; no one should, therefore, be blamed."
Chaupala
The two brothers (Sri Rama and Laksmana) then adored the feet of their preceptor's wife (Arudhati) as well as of all those Brahmana ladies who had accompanied her paying them all the same honour as is due to the holy Ganga and Goddes Gauri (Siva's consort); while the ladies gladly blessed them in soft accents. After clasping Sumitra's feet they sought her lap even as an abject pauper would hug a treasure. Both the brothers now fell at the feet of mother Kausalya, all their limbs overwrought by love. The mother most fondly clasped them to her bosom and bathed them with tears of affection, How can any poet descibe the joy and grief of the occasion my more than a dumb man the taste of what he has eaten. After meeting their mother the Lord of Raghus and His younger brother (Laksmana) requested their Guru to accompany them. And on receiving the sage's command the citizens encamped themselves wherever they saw a suitable site and water close by.
Doha - 245
Taking with them a few chosen people, viz., the Brahmanas, the ministersw, the queen-mothers and the preceptor, Bharata Laksmana and the Lord of Raghus proceeded to the holy hermitage.
Chaupala
Sita came and threw herself at the feet of Vasistha (the chief of sages) and received suitable blessings solicited by Her mind. The affectionate manner in which She met the Guru's wife (Arundhati) and the wives of other hermits was beyod description. Adoring the feet of all one by on e Sita received blessings dear to Her heart. When Sita saw all Her mothers-in-law the tender girl closed her eyes in dismay. They appeared to Her like so many female swans fallen into the hands of some fowler. "What has a mischievous Providence done!" She said to Herself. They too were sore distressed when they gazed on Sita. We must bear all that Fate imposes on us," they thought. Janaka's Daughter then took courage in Her heart and with Her dark lotus eyes filled with tears She apprached and embraced all Her mother-in-law. Earth was enveloped in pathos at the moment.
Doha - 246
Throwing Herself at the feet of all by turns Sita greeted them with utmost love. Overwhelmed with emotion they blessed Her in their heart. "May you continue to enjoy a happy wifehood!"
Chaupala
Finding Sita and all the queen-mothers shaken with emotion the wise Guru bade them all sit down. Declaring the nature of the world to be illusory the lord of sages gave them some discourse on spiritual matters. he then announced the king's departure to heaven and the Lord of Raghus was deeply pained to hear of it. Thinking the king had died on account of love for Him the firsmest of the firm was much agitated. Hearing the unpalatable news, which was cruel as the thunderbolt Laksmana Sita and all the queens broke out into lamentations. Nay. the whole assembly was sore stricken with grief as though the king had died that very day. The chief of sages then comforted Sri Rama, who with all those present there bathed in the heavenly stream. The fasted that day abstaining even from water. And even though persuaded by the sage none else took a drop of water either.
Doha - 247
At daybreak the Lord reverntly and devoutly did all that the sage bade the Delighter of Raghus do.
Chaupala
Having performed His father's obsequites as prescribed in the Vedas the Lord, who was a sun as it were to the darkness of sins, became pure again. The Lord whose Name Itself is a fire to the cotton of sins and whose very thought is the root of all choice blessings, attained purity even as the heavenly strem is consevrated by invoking into it other sacred waters such is the verdict of holy men. When two days elapsed after the purification. Sri Rama affectionately said to the Guru: "My lord, all the people are sore distressed living as they don on bulbs, roots, fruits and water alone. When I behold Bharata and his younger brother (Satrughna) the ministers and all my mothers, every minute that passes seems an age to me. Therefore, Pray return to the city with all; for you are here and the king (my father) is in heaven (there is no one to look after they city) I have said too much and all this amounts to gross presumption on my part. Now lord, do what is what is proper."
Doha - 248
"It is no wonder, Rama, that you should speak like this, a bulwark of righteousness and a home of compassion that you are. But grieved as the people are, let them derive solace by enjoying your sight for a couple of days."
Chaupala
All the words of Sri Rama the assembly trembled with fear like a ship tossed on the ocean. When, however, they heard the auspicious words of the Guru, it seemed as though the wind had turned in their favour. Thrice in the day. (in the morning, at noon and in the evening)they bathed in the holy Payasvini river, the very sight of which wipes out hosts of sins, ever feasting their eyes on Sri Rama, the incarnation of blessendness, and gladly prostrating themselves before Him again and again. They went out to see the hill and woods hallowed by the presence of Sri Rama, where reigned joy of every kind and which was free from all sorrows. Water sweet as nectar flowed from springs; while soft cool and fragrant breezens soothed every pain of mind and body. Trees, creepers and grasses of infinite variety; fruits flowers and leaves of many kinds beautiful slabs of stone and the delightful shade of trees: the spledour of the forest was beyond description.
Doha - 249
Lotuses adorned the lakes, waterfowls cooed and bees hummed; while birds and beasts of various colours roamed about in the forest free from animosities.
Chaupala
The Kolas, Kirata, Bhilas and other dwellers of the forest prepared lovely bowls of leaves and filling them with honey. pure, fine and delicious as nectar, precsented them with small bundles of bulbs, roots, fruits and sprouts to all the newcomers with humble submissikon and salutations. severally mentioning the taste, species, virtue and name of each. The people offered a liberal price; but the foresters would not accept it and returned it adjuring them by Sri Rama's love to take it back. Overwhlmed with emotion they submitted in gentle tones: "The good respect true love once they have come to recognize it. You are all virtuous souls while we are vile Nisadas, it is through Rama's grace that we have been blessed with your sight. You were utterly inaccessible to us even as the stream of the heavenly river (ganga) is to the desert land of Maru (Western Rajaputana and Sindha) The all-merciful Rama has showered his grace on the Nisada chief; a king;'s kith and king and subjects too should share his disposition.
Doha - 250
"Bearing this in mind shake off all scruple and recognizing our affection show your grace to us. And in order to oblige us do accept fruits, grass and shoots from us."
Chaupala
"You have come to this forest as our welcome guests; but we are not lucky enough to be fit any sevice to you. What can we offer you noble sirs? Fuel and leaves are the only tokens of a Kirata's friendship;and our greatest service is that we do not steal and remove your utensils and clothers. We are unfeeling creatures taking others' life, and are crooked by nature, wicked evil-minded and lowborn. Our days and nights are spent in sinful our belly. How could we possibly have ever dreamt of entertaining pious sentiments but for the virtue of having seen the Delighter of Raghu's Ever since we had the good fortune of gazing on our Lord's lotus feet our terrible woes and evils have desappeared" The citizens were overwhelmed with emotion to hear these words and began to extol the good fortune of those foresters.