w:
"I am your pupil, ever true:
To me high favour have ye shown;
Come, sit ye on my royal throne,
For Dasaratha rules these towers
E'en as Ayodhya now is ours.
Do with your own whate'er ye choose:
Your lordship here will none refuse."

He spoke, and to Videha's king
Thus Dasaratha, answering:
"Boundless your virtues, lords, whose sway
The realms of Mithila obey.
With honouring care you entertain.
Both holy sage and royal train.
Now to my house my steps I bend--
May blessings still on you at end--
Due offerings to the shades to pay."
Thus spoke the king, and turned away:
To Janak first he bade adieu,
Then followed fast those holy two.
The monarch reached his palace where
The rites were paid with solemn care.
When the next sun began to shine
He rose and made his gift of kine.
A hundred thousand cows prepared
For each young prince the Brahmans shared.
Each had her horns adorned with gold;
And duly was the number told,
Four hundred thousand perfect tale:
Each brought a calf, each filled a pail.
And when that glorious task was o'er,
The monarch with his children four,
Showed like the Lord of Life divine
When the worlds' guardians round him shine.

Canto LXXIII. The Nuptials.

On that same day that saw the king
His gift of kine distributing,
The lord of Kekaya's son, by name
Yudhajit, Bharat's uncle, came,
Asked of the monarch's health, and then
Addressed the reverend king of men:
"The lord of Kekaya's realm by me
Sends greeting, noble King, to thee:
Asks if the friends thy prayers would bless
Uninterrupted health possess.
Right anxious, mighty King, is he
My sister's princely boy to see.
For this I sought Ayodhya fair
The message of my sire to bear.
There learning, O my liege, that thou
With sons and noble kinsmen now
Wast resting here, I sought the place
Longing to see my nephew's face."
The king with kind observance cheered
His friend by tender ties endeared,
And every choicest honour pressed
Upon his honourable guest.

That night with all his children spent,
At morn King Dasaratha went,
Behind Vasishtha and the rest,
To the fair ground for rites addressed.
Then when the lucky hour was nigh
Called Victory, of omen high,
Came Rama, after vow and prayer
For nuptial bliss and fortune fair,
With the three youths in bright attire,
And stood beside his royal sire.
To Janak then Vasishtha sped,
And to Videha's monarch said:
"O King, Ayodhya's ruler now
Has breathed the prayer and v