THE BOOK OF AYODHYĀ original: Ayodhyākāndam

than myself. Therefore in this age, beholding my son established in the dominion of this entire earth, I shall repair unto heaven." Seeing him, Rāma, thus crowned with all these various as well as other sterling and immeasurable virtues rare among other princes, the king then took counsel with his ministers, and made up his mind to confer upon Rāma the dignity of heir-apparent The Sanskrit term is Yuvarāja, meaning "Young King.". And that intelligent king mentioned unto his ministers the dreadful evils portended by appearances and phenomena in heaven and the air and on the earth; and also pointed out the circumstance of decrepitude having taken possession of his person. He therefore gave them to understand that the installation of the high-souled Rāma—of countenance resembling the full moon—would dispel his grief, at the same time that it would be universally hailed by the people. Therefore, influenced by his affection for his subjects, and with the view of compassing his own as well as their welfare, the righteous monarch urged expedition upon his counsellors; and that lord of earth brought together the prime and noble from the various regions and countries of the earth. Like unto Prajāpati The "Lord of Creatures," a creator deity in the Vedic tradition who oversees the well-being of all living things. himself before all creatures, the king appeared before them, who had been received respectfully, and had, as befitted their ranks, various ornaments conferred upon and quarters assigned unto them. But that lord of men did not, on account of haste, bring over either Janaka The King of Mithilā and the father of Rāma's wife, Sītā. or the king of the Kekayas The kingdom belonging to the father of Queen Kaikeyī, the king’s second wife., concluding that a little while after they would receive the glad tidings.

Then when the king—that captor of hostile capitals—had sat down there, the princes popular with their subjects began to pour in—all save the two aforementioned rulers. Facing and eyeing the monarch, those kings sat them down on different seats pointed out by the former. Surrounded by those prime and noble of the various provinces, and all those lowly rulers, who had been received honorably and who generally resided at Ayodhyā The capital city of the Kosala Kingdom and the primary setting for this section of the epic., the so-