जनकानां कुले कीर्तिमाहरिष्यति मे सुता।
सीता भर्तारमासाद्य रामं दशरथात्मजम्॥
janakānāṁ kule kīrtim āhariṣyati me sutā
sītā bhartāram āsādya rāmaṁ daśarathātmajam
janakānām = of the Janakas; kule = to the lineage; kīrtim = fame; āhariṣyati = will bring; me sutā = my daughter; sītā = Sītā; bhartāram = as her husband; āsādya = having attained; rāmam = Rāma; daśaratha-ātmajam = the son of Daśaratha.
Having attained Rāma, the son of Daśaratha, as her husband, my daughter Sītā will bring fame to the lineage of the Janakas.
1 A text with a slight variation runs as follows: ekāham api kaunteya bhūmistham udakaṁ kuru, kulaṁ tārayate janma sapta sapta ca sapta ca. This is a supplemental reading found after text 13.99.22 in Mahābhārata.
2 Janaka, a kṣatriya, would naturally expect his son-in-law to be well learned and trained in the kṣatriya field. That Lord Rāma could do the impossible astonished King Janaka that he didn’t bother to refer to His education and training.
The Janakas are exceptionally famous [for being detached from external sense objects] as described in the following statement [by one of them]:
anantaṁ bata me vittaṁ yasya me nāsti kiñcana
mithilāyāṁ pradīptāyāṁ na me dahyati kiñcana
“Oh, though I have unlimited wealth, I have nothing. Even if Mithilā bursts into flames, nothing that is mine will burn.” (Mahābhārata 12.17.18)
Still, Sītā will bring about fame to this lineage. This is similar to the statement, kulaṁ tārayate tāta sapta sapta ca sapta ca: “O child, [the pious activity of excavating a lake with natural water from the ground] delivers one’s twenty-one generations of his family.”1 [In other words, the activity of marrying Sītā to Rāma is so pious that she will deliver her entire lineage.]
And she will bring about this fame immediately. One can only bring about something that already exists. Because she is related to Janaka as his daughter, he is also glorified. She is glorious since her very birth [because she is sītā, born from a furrow and not from anyone’s womb].
She will become glorified because she will attain Rāma as her bhartā, a person expert in taking care of her. Vittam icchanti mātaraḥ: “Mothers want their sons-in-law to possess wealth.” Sītā will have a wealthy prince as her care-taker. [Thus, Sītā’s mother would be satisfied.]
Sītā’s husband is Rāma [who is so pleasing to behold]. Rūpam icchati kanyakā: “A virgin girl wants her husband to be handsome.” [So, Sītā would be satisfied.]
And Rāma is the son of Daśaratha. Bāndhavāḥ kulam icchanti: “Relatives want the boy married to the girl of their family to be from a good family.” [So, Janaka’s relatives would be satisfied.]
Thus, because all concerned parties will be satisfied, Sītā will bring fame to her lineage.
NOTE. A proverb containing lines similar to what have been quoted in the commentary runs:
kanyā varayate rūpaṁ mātā vittaṁ pitā śrutam
bāndhavāḥ kulam icchanti miṣṭhānne itare janāḥ
“A virgin girl desires a bridegroom with beauty. Her mother desires that he have wealth. The girl’s father desires that he be educated [and trained].2 The girl’s relatives desire that he be from a good family. Others [concerned about the matrimonial alliance] desire sweets and good food [at the wedding to be served to them].”