He who is so delicate of form and tender of disposition and whose body has never been exposed to hot winds, is suffering every kind of hardship in the woods. Oh! this breast of mine has outdone a myriad thunderbolts!

As for Rama, his birth has brought radiance to the world, for he is an ocean of beauty, amiability, joy and all perfection. Rama’s disposition is the delight of the people of Ayodhya and of his kinsfolk, guru, father and mother.

Even his enemies glorify Rama, who steals every heart by his polite speech, his agreeable manners and his modesty of behaviour. Millions of Sharadas (goddesses of speech) and hundreds of million of Sheshas (serpent-gods) are unable to reckon up the virtues of the Lord.

Rama, the jewel of Raghu’s line, who is Bliss personified and a mine of joy and fortune, strews kusha grass on the ground and sleeps on it! The ways of Providence are inexorable indeed!

Rama had never even heard of sorrow; the king (our father) tended him like the tree of life. All the queens cherished him day and night even as the eyelid guards the eyes or the serpent its jewel.

The same Rama now roams the forest on foot and lives on bulbs, roots, fruit and flowers. Curses on Kaikeyi (my mother), the root of all evil, who turned hostile to him (her own husband) who was the dearest object of her life!

And curses, curses on my own wretched self, that ocean of iniquity, on whose account all these calamities have come to pass. God brought me to birth to disgrace my family, and my wicked mother has made me the enemy of my lord.’