A cool, mild and fragrant breeze was blowing. The gods were feeling exhilarated and the saints were brimful of enthusiasm. The woods were full of blossoms and the hills bright with gems, and every river flowed an ambrosial stream.

When Brahma knew the hour of Rama’s birth had come, all the gods came out with their aerial cars duly equipped. The spotless heaven was crowded with the host of deities and troops of Gandharvas chanted praises-

-and rained down flowers with their winsome hands, and the sky resounded with the joyous beat of kettledrums. Serpents, sages and gods sang hymns of praise and offered their services in manifold ways.

Having sung their praises the gods returned to their several abodes, when the Lord, the abode of the world, and the solace of all creation, manifested himself.

The gracious Lord, exceedingly compassionate, was revealed to bless Kausalya. The contemplation of his wondrous beauty, which captivated the hearts of sages, filled the mother with rapture. His body, dark as a cloud, was the delight of all eyes; in his four arms he bore his characteristic emblems (a conch-shell, a discus, a club and a lotus). Decked with jewels and a garland of forest flowers and endowed with large eyes, the slayer of the demon Khara was an ocean of beauty.

Joining both her palms, the mother said, “O infinite Lord, how may I praise you? The Vedas and the Puranas declare you beyond illusion, attributes and knowledge, and immeasurable. He whom the Vedas and holy men hymn as the ocean of mercy and bliss and the repository of all virtues, the same lord of Lakshmi who loves his votaries, has revealed himself for my weal!

The Vedas say that every pore of your body contains full many a universe created by illusion. Yet such a Lord rested in my womb-an amusing story to stagger the minds of the most steadfast when they hear it!” when the revelation dawned upon the mother, the Lord smiled; he would perform many a sportive act; he exhorted her by relating to her the charming account of her earlier life so that she might love him as her son.