With these words the good kings turned to gaze with passionate love on Rama’s peerless beauty, while in heaven the gods witnessed the spectacle from their aerial cars, and rained down flowers and sang melodious songs of joy.

Then-finding it a fit occasion – Janaka sent for Sita; and her companions, all lovely and accomplished, reverently escorted her to the arena.

Sita’s beauty beggars all description, Mother of the universe that she is and an embodiment of charm and excellence. To me all comparisons seem worthless, for they are appropriate to the limbs of mortal women.

Who will depict Sita with the help of these similes and earn the title of an unworthy poet and court ill-repute? Should Sita be compared to any woman of this material creation, then where in the world shall one come across a damsel so lovely?

The goddess of speech (Sarasvati), for instance, is a chatter; Bhavani possesses only half a body (the other half being represented by her lord, Shiva); and Rati (Love’s consort) is in sore distress on account of her disfleshed lord. How can Videha’s daughter be compared to Lakshmi, who has poison and strong drink for her dear brother?

Suppose there was an ocean of nectar in the form of loveliness and the tortoise (serving as a base for churning it) was an embodiment of consummate beauty, and suppose splendour itself were to take the form of a rope, the erotic sentiment to crystallize and assume the shape of Mount Mandara and the god of love himself were to churn this ocean with his own lotus hands,

-and suppose from such churning were to be born a Lakshmi, source of all beauty and bliss, still the poet would shrink from saying that she could be compared to Sita.