Dasharatha Presses Mithila's Letter to His Heart
Bala Kanda, Chaupai 287
Doha 290 · Movement 1 of 2
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Janaka's messengers reach sacred Ayodhya and announce themselves at the palace gate. Dasharatha summons them. After their salutation, they offer the letter, and the king rises from his seat to receive it with his own hands.
Tears fill his eyes as he reads. Ecstatic tremors cover his body, and he presses the page carrying news of Ram and Lakshmana against his chest. For a time he cannot speak or distinguish bitter from sweet.
Steadying himself, Dasharatha reads aloud, and joy crosses the assembly. Bharata and Shatrughna leave their play and hurry in. With loving shyness they ask where the message has come from. A sheet of writing has made the absent brothers suddenly present within the court.
The road from Mithila ends as a letter held against Dasharatha's overflowing heart.
Read the passage from the Manas
पहुँचे दूत राम पुर पावन। हरषे नगर बिलोकि सुहावन।। भूप द्वार तिन्ह खबरि जनाई। दसरथ नृप सुनि लिए बोलाई।। करि प्रनामु तिन्ह पाती दीन्ही। मुदित महीप आपु उठि लीन्ही।। बारि बिलोचन बाचत पाँती। पुलक गात आई भरि छाती।। रामु लखनु उर कर बर चीठी। रहि गए कहत न खाटी मीठी।। पुनि धरि धीर पत्रिका बाँची। हरषी सभा बात सुनि साँची।। खेलत रहे तहाँ सुधि पाई। आए भरतु सहित हित भाई।। पूछत अति सनेहँ सकुचाई। तात कहाँ तें पाती आई।।
The messengers reached Rama's sacred city and rejoiced to see its beauty. At the royal gate they announced their arrival, and King Dasharatha, hearing this, called them in. With reverent salutations they presented the letter. The delighted king himself rose to receive it. Tears filled his eyes as he read each line; his body thrilled with joy and his heart overflowed. Pressing the precious letter about Rama and Lakshmana to his breast, he stood speechless, unable to tell bitter from sweet. Then, steadying himself, he read the letter aloud, and the whole assembly rejoiced to hear the true tidings. Bharata, who had been playing nearby with his dear brother Shatrughna, came running when the news reached them. With great affection, yet shyly, they asked, 'Father, from where has this letter come?'