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The road from the stone and the empty hermitage leads to the Ganga. There the sage tells a story and the travellers bathe. And then to a city: Janakpur, Janaka’s city in Mithila. A king lives there whose mind, by his own account, is by nature the form of dispassion. Before the episode is over he will bow his head at a sage’s feet. Then he says that, looking at two boys, that mind has let go of the bliss of Brahman.
The city comes first, and Rama‘s joy at the sight of it: waters and gardens, a market and painted houses. Janaka’s palace and the house where Sita lives, kings camped outside the city, and a mango grove the sage chooses. Then the king comes to the grove with his court. The two brothers return from a flower garden, and at the sight of them Janaka becomes bodiless indeed. Inside the city there is a meal, a watch of daylight left, and a wish in Lakshmana’s heart that he does not say aloud and Rama knows. The sage sends both brothers out, and children fall in beside them. The townspeople run, and young women at the lattices find no god to liken them to.
Guests in Mithila, and their host
The main figures in this episode
- Rama Dasharatha’s son. He comes with the sage to Janakpur and rejoices at the city with his brother. He returns from the flower garden and is seated near the sage. He smiles in his mind when the sage speaks of him. He knows his younger brother’s unspoken wish and, with the guru’s leave, asks his order to show him the city. He walks through the city, where the townspeople run to look at the two.
- Lakshmana Rama’s younger brother, the fair one of the pair, named with Rama by the sage as a guard of his sacrifice. A longing to see Janakpur is in his heart. Fear and shyness keep it off his tongue.
- Vishvamitra the great sage, Gadhi’s son. He tells how the Ganga came to earth and chooses the mango grove. He blesses Janaka and answers his question with the brothers’ names and their deed. He sends the two to see the city and make everyone’s eyes fruitful with their faces.
- Janaka the lord of Mithila, called Videha. He comes with his court to welcome the sage and becomes bodiless indeed at the sight of the two brothers. He asks who they are, saying that his mind, by nature the form of dispassion, has let go of the bliss of Brahman. He leads them into the city, lodges them, and serves them.
- The people of Janakpur the children who fall in beside the brothers. The townspeople who leave home and work and run to look at them. And the young women at the lattices who find no god to liken them to.
From the bank of the Ganga toward Janakpur
Rama and Lakshmana went with the sage, and they came to where the Ganga was, the river that makes the world pure. There Gadhi’s son told the whole story of how the river of the gods came down to the earth. The verse says that he told it, and no more. The story stays in the sage’s mouth.
Then the Lord bathed there with the rishis, and the brahmins received gifts of many kinds. Glad, he went on with the company of sages, and before long the city of Videha was near.
Water, lotuses, and gardens on every side
When Rama saw the loveliness of the city, he and his younger brother rejoiced greatly. There were step-wells and wells, rivers and lakes of many kinds, with water like nectar and steps of jewels. Bees drunk on nectar hummed charmingly, and birds of many colors called sweetly. Lotuses had opened, color upon color. A wind of three kinds, which the commentary names as cool, slow, and fragrant, always gave pleasure.
Flower gardens, orchards, and woods, the home of many birds, flowering, fruiting, and in fine leaf, adorned the city on all four sides.
A rich market, and a blessing on every house
Within the city, wherever the mind went, there it was charmed. There was a fine market, and there were wondrous balconies made of jewels, as if Brahma had fashioned them with his own hands. Rich merchants, the equals of Kubera, sat with goods of every kind, many of each. The crossroads were beautiful and the lanes handsome, and they were always sprinkled with scent.
Everyone’s house was full of blessing, and the houses were painted, as if Kamadeva had turned painter and done the work. The men and women of the city were handsome, pure, and saintly, dharma-minded, wise, and full of virtue.
The palaces, and a mango grove for the sage
Beyond compare was the place where Janaka lived. The gods stood stilled at the sight of its splendor. The mind was amazed at the sight of its wall, as if the wall had hemmed in the beauty of all the worlds. White palaces, with cloth of gold set with jewels and well made in many ways. The commentary reads them as curtains. And the beautiful house where Sita lived. Its beauty was past any telling.
All the gates were handsome, with doors of adamant. The commentary reads the word as strong, or as shining like diamond. At the gates stood crowds of kings, dancers, bards, and panegyrists. Vast stables had been built for horses and elephants, and at every hour they were crowded with horses, elephants, and chariots. The warriors, ministers, and generals were many, and the houses of all of them were like the king’s. Outside the city, near lake and river, many kings had pitched camp here and there.
The sage saw a mango grove beyond compare, with every convenience, handsome in every way. Vishvamitra said: “My mind is content with it. Let us stay here, Rama.” “Very well, master,” said Rama, and they camped there with the company of sages. Janaka got the news that the great sage Vishvamitra had come.
Janaka comes to welcome him, and the two brothers return
The king took with him ministers pure of heart, many warriors, fine brahmins, his guru, whom the commentary names Shatananda, and his kin. In this way, glad, he set out to meet the sage. He saluted with his head on the sage’s feet, and the sage, glad, gave him his blessing. He bowed with respect to the whole company of brahmins, and knowing his fortune to be great, the king rejoiced. Asking after his welfare again and again, Vishvamitra seated the king.
At that moment the two brothers came. They had gone to see the flower garden. Dark and fair, of tender years, two youths, a joy to the eyes and thieves of the whole world’s mind. When Rama came, everyone rose, and Vishvamitra seated the two near him. At the sight of the two brothers everyone was happy. There was water in their eyes, and their bodies thrilled.
Seeing that sweet and enchanting image, Videha became Videha indeed. The king’s title means the bodiless. The commentary reads the second Videha as the king losing all sense of his body. Knowing his mind to be sunk in love, the king took hold of discernment and held on to patience. He bowed his head at the sage’s feet and spoke, in a voice choked and deep.
Who are these two boys?
“Tell me, master,” Janaka said, “these two beautiful boys: are they the ornaments of a sage’s line, or the guardians of a king’s line? Or has that Brahman, whom the Vedas sing by saying ‘not this’, come wearing a twin guise? My mind, which is by nature the form of dispassion, is stilled, as a chakora is by the moon. Therefore, lord, I ask you in true feeling: tell me, master, and do not hide it. Looking at these two, in great love, my mind has perforce let go of the bliss of Brahman.”
The sage smiled and said: “King, you have spoken well. Your word cannot be false. These are dear to all, as far as there are living beings.” At the sage’s words Rama smiled in his mind. The commentary reads the smile as if he signalled to the sage to keep the secret. The sage went on: “These are the sons of Dasharatha, the jewel of Raghu’s line. For my good the king sent them. Rama and Lakshmana, two fine brothers, are the homes of beauty, good conduct, and strength. They guarded my sacrifice, and the whole world is witness. They won the battle against the asuras.”
The brothers’ love, and the king’s service
The king said: “Sage, seeing your feet, I cannot tell the power of my own merit. These two beautiful brothers, the dark and the fair, give joy to joy itself. Their love for each other is pure. It cannot be told. It pleases the mind and is handsome.” Glad, Janaka went on: “Hear, master. Between them is a natural love, like that between Brahman and the soul.”
Again and again the king looked at the Lord. His body thrilled, and his heart was full of eagerness. He praised the sage, bowed his head at his feet, and led them into the city. A beautiful house, pleasant at every hour: there the king brought them and lodged them. He did them worship and service in every way, took his leave, and went home.
Rama ate with the rishis and rested, and then sat with his brother. A full watch of daylight, a quarter of the day, still remained.
Lakshmana’s unspoken wish
In Lakshmana’s heart there was a great longing to go and see Janakpur. There was fear of the Lord, and there was shyness before the sage. He did not say it openly, and he smiled in his mind. Rama knew the state of his younger brother’s mind, and tenderness for devotees welled up in his heart. Having got the guru’s leave, very humble, shy, and smiling, Rama spoke.
“Master, Lakshmana wants to see the city. From shyness and fear of the lord, he does not say it openly. If I may have your order, I will show him the city and bring him back at once.” The commentary reads that lord as the sage.
Hearing him, the sage said with love: “Rama, how would you not keep propriety? Child, you are the guardian of the bridge of dharma, and under the sway of love you give happiness to your servants.” The commentary reads that bridge as the bounds of dharma. Then he gave his leave: “Go and see the city and come back, you two brothers who are treasures of happiness. And make everyone’s eyes fruitful by showing them your beautiful faces.”
A dark and fair pair walk through the city
The two brothers bowed to the sage’s lotus feet and went, givers of joy to the eyes of the worlds. Troops of children saw their great beauty and fell in beside them, their eyes and minds charmed.
Yellow garments. Quivers bound at the waist in the sash. A fine bow and arrows shining in the hand. Streaks of fine sandal paste suited to each body. The commentary explains them as the color that best becomes each complexion. An enchanting pair, the dark one and the fair. A neck like a lion’s and long arms. On the breast a very lovely necklace of what the commentary reads as elephant pearls. Handsome eyes like red lotuses, and a face like the moon, that releases from the three afflictions. Golden ear-flowers gave beauty to the ears and seemed, at a look, to steal the mind away. The glance was lovely, the brows fine and arched, and the lines of the tilak were as if a seal had been set on beauty.
Lovely caps, which the commentary describes as four-cornered, sat on their handsome heads, over black, curling hair. From nail to crown the two brothers were beautiful, and every beauty was in its right place.
Eyes at the lattices, and a search for a likeness
The king’s sons had come to see the city, and the townspeople got the news. They left their homes and every task and ran, as if paupers had set out to loot a treasure. They looked at the two brothers, beautiful by nature, and were happy, having gained the fruit of their eyes.
Young women clung to the lattices of their houses and gazed with love at Rama’s form, and they spoke to each other with love. “Friend, these two have outdone the beauty of ten million Kamadevas. Among gods, men, asuras, nagas, and sages, such beauty is nowhere heard of. Vishnu has four arms, Brahma four faces, and Shiva a fierce dress and five faces. There is no other god, friend, to whom this beauty could be likened.”
They went on: “In the age of youth, the homes of loveliness, the dark one and the fair, abodes of happiness. On each and every limb, tens of millions upon tens of millions of Kamadevas, a hundred times over, should be offered up.”
A city that looks, and two princes looked at
The episode begins at the Ganga and ends under the lattices of Janakpur. Between the two, the brothers are seen by a king and his court, by troops of children, and by townspeople who leave their homes and work. Rama’s form is gazed at by young women at the lattices. They are still talking when the next episode opens.
The same story, elsewhere: Valmiki’s Ramayana, chapter 4: Mithila, the Breaking of Shiva’s Bow, and the Wedding of Sita.
Source: the Gita Press edition of Tulsidas’s Ramcharitmanas, Balkand, doha 212 to 220, read with Hanuman Prasad Poddar’s Hindi commentary.