Canto 1 - Boyhood
Bāla-kāṇḍa
Chapter 16: Daśaratha Benedicted
Text 1.16.22
भार्याणामनुरूपाणामश्नीतेति प्रयच्छ वै।
तासु त्वं लप्स्यसे पुत्रान्यदर्थं यजसे नृप॥
bhāryāṇām anurūpāṇām aśnīteti prayaccha vai
tāsu tvaṁ lapsyase putrān yad-arthaṁ yajase nṛpa
bhāryāṇām = to your wives; anurūpāṇām = similar to you; aśnīta iti = and tell them to eat it; prayaccha vai = give it; tāsu = from them; tvam = you; lapsyase = will get; putrān = sons; yad-artham = the purpose for which; yajase = you are conducting this sacrifice; nṛpa = O king.
Give it to your wives similar to you and tell them to eat it. O king, you will get sons from them—the purpose for which you are conducting this sacrifice.
Anurūpāṇām (“similar to you”) indicates that King Daśaratha should give the pāyasa to his savarṇa wives, that is, wives from the same varṇa as he is in—kṣatriya wives.