Viśvāmitra arrived in order to wake up Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa. Observing the beauty of Lord Rāma’s sleep, Viśvāmitra became attached to Him and forgot why he had come. He wondered, “What austerities did Kausalyā perform to attain Him as her son?” And then he said, kausalyā suprajā, “Kausalyā has such a nice son!” This is similar to the statement, kausalyā śuśubhe tena putreṇāmita-tejasā: “Kausalyā shone with her son of unlimited prowess.” (Rāmāyaṇa 1.18.12)

Both Daśaratha and Kausalyā performed austerities to have Lord Rāma as their son. So why is the sage referring only to Kausalyā here? [The answer is:] A mother performs more for her son.[1] A mother is considered more important than a father by the Śruti [by mentioning her prior to him].[2] And the Smṛti explicitly states that a mother is a hundred times more valuable than a father.²[3]

There is also a great difference between Kausalyā and Daśaratha. Viśvāmitra had already informed Daśaratha that he was aware of the supremacy of Śrī Rāmacandra.[4] Nevertheless, Daśaratha didn’t bother about it the least and said that he had begotten Rāma with great difficulty and so Viśvāmitra should not take him.[5] Then, when Vasiṣṭha encouraged him, he sent Rāma with Viśvāmitra. On the other hand, though Kausalyā was filled with pure affection for her son, she quickly and respectfully had Him sent off with Viśvāmitra. Noticing this gradation of affection, the sage remarked that Kausalyā has a nice son.

Then the sage called out “Rāma!” Even while sleeping, Kausalyā’s son looked beautifully pleasant, and therefore calling Him rāma then was appropriate.

Pūrvā sandhyā pravartate implies that like the dawn sun, the sun of Rāma has taken birth from Kausalyā. Viśvāmitra suggests, “Please tend to Your duties to dawn just as You would tend to Your mother!” The morning has begun, the time to remove all opponents, all darkness. Viśvāmitra suggests that his direct experience of Lord Rāma is his own dawn of spiritual awakening. Indeed, when the Lord incarnates, the entire world experiences an increase in goodness.

Uttiṣṭha: “Please wake up!” The sage had seen the beauty of Lord Rāma’s sleep. Now he wants to see the beauty of His waking up.

Nara-śārdūla indicates that since Lord Rāma is functioning as the best of men, He should carry out His early morning duties. After all, yad yad ācarati śreṣṭhas tat tad evetaro janaḥ: “Whatever action a great man performs, common men follow.” (Bhagavad-gītā 3.21) Since the Lord is habituated to removing the obstacles of those who have taken shelter of Him, does He have any opportunity to sleep? As the best of men, Śrī Rāma is meant to carry out the sacrificial performances of Viśvāmitra.

Why should the Lord wake up? Kartavyaṁ daivam āhnikam: divine duties need to be executed. The divine Supreme Lord has prescribed certain daily duties to be executed. That Lord is [Himself] none other than Rāma, and Viśvāmitra has to execute his daily duties which he wants to perform for the pleasure of the Lord in his presence.