At the very mention of their name all evil is uprooted and the four rewards of human existence are brought within one’s grasp. Such are Sita and Rama!’ So said Shiva, the enemy of Love.

Having thus admonished the gods, Shiva spurred on his noble bull Nandishvara. The gods watched Dasharath advancing (towards Janaka’s palace) with his heart full of joy and a thrill of rapture.Having thus admonished the gods, Shiva spurred on his noble bull Nandishvara. The gods watched Dasharath advancing (towards Janaka’s palace) with his heart full of joy and a thrill of rapture.

The crowd of holy men and Brahmans accompanying the king appeared like all the joys incarnate ministering to him. By his side shone forth his four handsome sons, incarnations, as it were, of the four orders of final beatitude. (The four grades or orders of final beatitude are salokya, residence in the same heaven as God; samipya, being in actual contact with God; sarupya, being in the same form as God; and sayujya, complete absorption into God.)

The gods were greatly inspired with love to see the two noble pairs, one possessing the hue of emerald and the other of gold. They were particularly delighted at heart to see Rama. They extolled the king and rained down flowers.

As Uma and the slayer of the demon Tripura (Shiva and Parvati) gazed again and again at Rama’s beauty, charming from head to foot, they felt a thrill of rapture and their eyes were bedewed with tears.

His swarthy form possessed the glow of a peacock’s glossy neck, and his dress of magnificent hue shone brighter than the lighting. Wedding ornaments of every kind, all auspicious and graceful in every way, adorned his person.

His countenance was as comely as the moon in a cloudless autumn night, his eyes put to shame a blooming pair of lotuses. The elegance of his form was transcendent in all its details; though it moved the soul, it defied description.