Canto 1 - Boyhood
Bāla-kāṇḍa
Chapter 50: King Janaka Meets Viśvāmitra
Text 1.50.1
ततः प्रागुत्तरां गत्वा रामः सौमित्रिणा सह।
विश्वामित्रं पुरस्कृत्य यज्ञवाटमुपागमत्॥
tataḥ prāg-uttarāṁ gatvā rāmaḥ saumitriṇā saha
viśvāmitraṁ puraskṛtya yajña-vāṭam upāgamat
tataḥ = then; prāk-uttarām = north-east; gatvā = proceeding; rāmaḥ = Rāma; saumitriṇā saha = and the son of Sumitrā; viśvāmitram = Viśvāmitra; puraskṛtya = kept in front and; yajña-vāṭam = Janaka’s sacrificial arena; upāgamat reached.
Then, proceeding north-east, Rāma and the son of Sumitrā kept Viśvāmitra in front and reached Janaka’s sacrificial arena.
The sage Vālmīki has so far described the supreme purifying nature of Lord Rāma. Now, in order to point out that He is the eternal husband of the goddess of fortune, he turns to the topic of His wedding Sītā-devī. This chapter introduces that subject.