The King Places His Daughter Before Narada
Bala Kanda, Doha 130
Doha 130 · Movement 2 of 2
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The palace settles into attentive quiet as the king brings his daughter before the honoured sage. Jewels and ceremonial cloth frame the meeting, but the father's concern is direct. He wants discernment, not flattery, from the holy visitor seated in his hall.
With reverence, the king asks Narada to examine the princess's qualities and faults within his heart and speak everything he sees. The sage is offered the trusted place of one who reads destiny without personal desire.
Before him stands Hari's Maya in a form designed to meet the exact weakness still concealed. The king waits for an answer, the princess remains within the assembly, and Narada raises his eyes to behold her.
Asked to read the princess without desire, Narada looks upon the beauty fashioned by Hari.
Read the passage from the Manas
आनि देखाई नारदहि भूपति राजकुमारि। कहहु नाथ गुन दोष सब एहि के हृदयँ बिचारि।।130।।
The king brought his princess before Narada and said: "O Lord, consider her qualities and faults in your heart, and tell me all that you see."