Canto 1 - Boyhood
Bāla-kāṇḍa
Chapter 73: The Grand Wedding of Sītā and Rāma
Text 1.73.42

अग्निं प्रदक्षिणीकृत्य वेदिं राजानं एव च।
ऋषींश्चैव महात्मानः सभार्या रघुसत्तमाः।
यथोक्तेन तदा चक्रुर्विवाहं विधिपूर्वकम्॥

agniṁ pradakṣiṇīkṛtya vediṁ rājānaṁ eva ca
ṛṣīṁś
caiva mahātmānaḥ sabhāryā raghu-sattamāḥ
yathoktena
tadā cakrur vivāhaṁ vidhi-pūrvakam

agnim = the sacred fire; pradakṣiṇīkṛtya = having circumambulated; vedim = the wedding pavilion; rājānam eva ca = King Janaka; ṛṣīn ca eva = and the sages; mahā-ātmānaḥ = who were great souls; sa-bhāryāḥ = [the four sons of King Daśaratha] with Their respective wives; raghu-sattamāḥ = and the best of the Raghus; yathā-uktena = as per the scriptural instructions; tadā cakruḥ vivāham = carried out Their marriage rituals; vidhi-pūrvakam = of the kalpa-sūtras.

Having circumambulated the sacred fire, the wedding pavilion, King Janaka and the sages, [the four sons of King Daśaratha] who were great souls and the best of the Raghus carried out Their marriage rituals with Their respective wives as per the scriptural instructions of the kalpa-sūtras.

Vasiṣṭha performed the oblation on a single sacred fire in a single wedding platform. Each of the bridegrooms accepted the hand of each of the brides and circumambulated that sacred fire. The marriage rituals here refer to the homa conducted after the pāṇi-grahaṇa ceremony.

Before [they came to the wedding platform], Vasiṣṭha had performed a homa to invoke prosperity [for the couples who were to be married]. It is mentioned here that after establishing the sacred fire, he conducted a homa for the marriage. The meaning is: After the bridegrooms accepted the hands of the brides, they circumambulated the [one] sacred fire, the brāhmaṇas and the donor, that is, King Janaka. And then, in accordance with the kalpa-sūtra regulations to be followed for each couple, Vasiṣṭha established individual sacred fires for each couple and they performed the marriage homa separately [and simultaneously].

At the time Sītā was handed over to Rāma, an auspicious omen was observed. From the next verse, it is pointed out that there were also auspicious omens at the time of all the four marriages.