word,
And bade me swift on him bestow
Siva's incomparable bow,
And Sita of the lotus eyes:
But I refused each peerless prize.
Then, host to host, we met the foes,
And fierce the din of battle rose,
Sudhanva, foremost of his band,
Fell smitten by my single hand.
When thus Sankasya's lord was slain,
I sanctified, as laws ordain,
My brother in his stead to reign,
Thus are we brothers, Saint most high
The younger he, the elder I.
Now, mighty Sage, my spirit joys
To give these maidens to the boys.
Let Sita be to Rama tied.
And Urmila be Lakshman's bride.
First give, O King, the gift of cows,
As dowry of each royal spouse,
Due offerings to the spirits pay,
And solemnize the wedding-day.
The moon tonight, O royal Sage,
In Magha's(252) House takes harbourage;
On the third night his rays benign
In second Phalguni(253) will shine:
Be that the day, with prosperous fate,
The nuptial rites to celebrate."

Canto LXXII. The Gift Of Kine.

When royal Janak's words were done,
Joined with Vasishtha Kusik's son,
The mighty sage began his speech:
"No mind may soar, no thought can reach
The glories of Ikshvaku's line,
Or, great Videha's King, of thine:
None in the whole wide world may vie
With them in fame and honours high.
Well matched, I ween, in holy bands,
These peerless pairs will join their hands.
But hear me as I speak once more;
Thy brother, skilled in duty's lore,
Has at his home a royal pair
Of daughters most divinely fair.
I for the hands of these sweet two
For Bharat and Satrughna sue,
Both princes of heroic mould,
Wise, fair of form, and lofty-souled.
All Dasaratha's sons, I ween,
Own each young grace of form and mien:
Brave as the Gods are they, nor yield
To the great Lords the worlds who shield.
By these, good Prince of merits high,
Ikshvaku's house with thine ally."

The suit the holy sage preferred,
With willing ear the monarch heard:
Vasishtha's lips the counsel praised:
Then spake the king with hands upraised:
"Now blest indeed my race I deem,
Which your high will, O Saints supreme,
With Dasaratha's house unites
In bonds of love and marriage rites.
So be it done. My nieces twain
Let Bharat and Satrughna gain,
And the four youths the selfsame day
Four maiden hands in theirs shall lay.
No day so lucky may compare,
For marriage--so the wise declare--
With the last day of Phalguni
Ruled by the genial deity."
Then with raised hands in reverence due
To those arch-saints he spoke ane