In this verse, Janaka points out that Sītā is worthy of being accepted by Rāma in terms of her beauty, noble birth and so on, and requests that He accept her.

Janaka points out to her and, on the basis of direct sense perception, says, “Here is Sītā,” that is, “Here she is, with her immeasurable beauty, youth, charm and so on.” Apart from what was directly seen, she can also be logically inferred to be possessing such characteristics because she was not born from the womb of any woman: “Here is Sītā,” that is, “Here is the one who was born from a furrow.” Just as when one sees a flash of lightning, one becomes dazed and is [momentarily] unable to see distinctly, similarly, as soon as Lord Rāma saw Sītā, He became dazed and [momentarily] unable to see her form distinctly. Therefore, He was told: “Here is Sītā.” Another reason: Just as Lord Rāma thinks and acts like a human being, so does Sītā-devī; she considered herself as belonging to Rāghava. Therefore, Janaka said: “Here is Sītā.”

Anticipating that Rāma might think, “But beauty is not our only requirement. Birth in a noble family is also a requirement,” Janaka states, “Here is Sītā, my daughter.” The idea is: The dynasty of Janaka is well-known for its strict behavior [in accordance with Vedic dharma]; so what [more] needs to be said in this regard? Daśaratha had performed several penances to attain Rāma as his son.[2]

Similarly, Janaka had performed many austerities in order to give Sītā to Rāma. Therefore, he refers to her as “my daughter.” He then anticipated that Śrī Rāma might think, “Alright, this beautiful lady can be for My enjoyment. For engagement in dharma, however, I require another wife.” And so Janaka mentions: “Accept her as Your dhārmika companion.” The implication is, “She is not only for Your enjoyment; she is also for Your engagement in dharma, as Your companion.”¹

Saha-dharmacarī indicates that she will practice the same religious principles as Rāma. Lord Rāma will say:

mitra-bhāvena saṁprāptaṁ na tyajeyaṁ kathañcana
doṣo yadyapi tasya syāt satām etad agarhitam

“If one has come to me in a friendly spirit, I will never ever abandon him, even if he has some defect. This is honored by the civilized.” (Rāmāyaṇa 6.18.3)

And just like Rāma, Sītā-devī will say:

pāpānāṁ vā śubhānāṁ vā vadhārhāṇāṁ plavaṅgama
kāryaṁ kāruṇyam āryeṇa na kaścin nāparādhyati

“O monkey, a noble person should be compassionate upon those who are fit to be killed, whether they are sinful or pious, [if they have taken shelter of him]. There is no one who does not commit a mistake.” (Rāmāyaṇa 6.116.45)

And yet Janaka thought, “Despite Sītā’s beauty, noble birth and devotion to dharma and so on, without my permission, Rāma would not receive her.” And so he said, “Please accept.” He didn’t say, “I give her to You” for Sītā does not exist separately from Rāma and so giving her to Him would be inappropriate.

Bhadraṁ te: “May there be auspiciousness unto You.” Janaka says this while anticipating that Lord Rāma might be angry with him for trying to give her to Him thinking, “Who are you to give her to Me? She is self-perfect [as My eternal consort].” By saying this, he attempts to pacify Rāma. By accepting her, Rāma would attain all auspiciousness, for she abundantly possesses all the auspicious characteristics of a [dhārmika] girl. Another reason for Janaka’s blessing is to ward of evil spells cast on the union of this bride and bridegroom who are well-suited to each other.

Having been permitted this far, Janaka then requests Lord Rāma to accept Sītā-devī’s hand in wedding; he does this out of fear that the Lord might marry her according to the gandharva or rākṣasa forms of wedding. He specifically mentions “hand” because if one marries a woman out of passion, he is instructed to hold her fingers.[3] Even though out of love the bride’s feet are also accepted, right now Janaka wanted Lord Rāma to accept her hand, for Janaka hankered to see the special beauty of them together.

One should not worry, “[According to the scriptures,] a brāhmaṇa alone can accept the hand of a bride. Kṣatriyas and so on are meant to accept arrows and so on [at the time of wedding]. So, how can this event [of Rāma accepting Sītā’s hand] be understood?”

The answer is that the above injunction applies to marriage out of one’s varṇa. This is noted by Manu.[4] Therefore, for all the varṇas, the ceremony of pāṇi-grahaṇa or accepting the bride’s hand by the bridegroom is carried out while marrying within the same varṇa.