The Wedding Pavilion Outshines the Fourteen Worlds
Bala Kanda, Chaupai 286
Doha 289 · Movement 1 of 2
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Decorative hangings fall like snares prepared by Love. Auspicious vessels, flags, banners, fine cloth, ceremonial whisks, and lamps made from gems fill the pavilion with forms too numerous for description.
What poet could contain the mandap where Vaidehi will sit and Ram, ocean of beauty and virtue, will stand as bridegroom? Its splendour announces itself through all three worlds.
The beauty of Janaka's palace seems repeated in every house. To anyone seeing Tirhut in that hour, the fourteen worlds would appear small. Even the humblest dwelling bears wealth capable of enchanting Indra. Marriage has levelled the city in radiance, allowing royal joy to spill through ordinary thresholds until no street remains outside the festival.
From palace roof to humble doorway, Mithila shines as one immeasurable wedding pavilion.
Read the passage from the Manas
रचे रुचिर बर बंदनिबारे। मनहुँ मनोभवँ फंद सँवारे।। मंगल कलस अनेक बनाए। ध्वज पताक पट चमर सुहाए।। दीप मनोहर मनिमय नाना। जाइ न बरनि बिचित्र बिताना।। जेहिं मंडप दुलहिनि बैदेही। सो बरनै असि मति कबि केही।। दूलहु रामु रूप गुन सागर। सो बितानु तिहुँ लोक उजागर।। जनक भवन कै सौभा जैसी। गृह गृह प्रति पुर देखिअ तैसी।। जेहिं तेरहुति तेहि समय निहारी। तेहि लघु लगहिं भुवन दस चारी।। जो संपदा नीच गृह सोहा। सो बिलोकि सुरनायक मोहा।।
Lovely decorative hangings were arranged with such grace that they seemed like snares laid by Kamadeva himself. Countless auspicious water vessels were prepared, together with splendid flags, banners, fine cloths, and ceremonial whisks. Enchanting lamps of every kind, fashioned from precious gems, shone throughout. The beauty of the pavilion defies all description. The mandap where the bride Vaidehi would sit. What poet possesses the wit to describe it? The bridegroom is Rama, an ocean of beauty and virtue. That pavilion shines as a beacon across all three worlds. The splendour that graced Janaka's palace was mirrored in every house throughout the city. Whoever beheld Tirhut (Mithila) at that hour would find the fourteen worlds small by comparison. The wealth that adorned even the humblest dwelling was such that it would enchant Indra, the lord of the gods.