प्रिया तु सीता रामस्य दाराः पितृकृता इति।
गुणाद्रूपगुणाच्चापि प्रीतिर्भूयोऽभ्यवर्धत।
हृदयं चैव जानाति प्रीतियोगि परस्परम्॥
priyā tu sītā rāmasya dārāḥ pitṛ-kṛtā iti
guṇād rūpa-guṇāc cāpi prītir bhūyo ’bhyavardhata
hṛdayaṁ caiva jānāti prīti-yogi parasparam
priyā tu = became dear; sītā = Sītā; rāmasya = to Rāma; dārāḥ pitṛ-kṛtāḥ iti = because His father had selected her as His wife; guṇāt = because of her virtues; rūpa-guṇāt ca api = bodily beauty and so on; prītiḥ = His love for her; bhūyaḥ = moreover; abhyavardhata = increased; hṛdayam ca eva = their hearts; jānāti = knew; prīti-yogi parasparam = united by love, each other very well.
Sītā became dear to Rāma because His father had selected her as His wife. Moreover, His love for her increased because of her virtues, bodily beauty and so on. United by love, their hearts knew each other very well.
1 This is attraction due to dhārmika duty. In higher forms of marital union in Vedic dharma, the husband and wife are attracted to each other because they have been married to each other.
2 Rāma loved Sītā because she was married to Him by the arrangement of His father. But His love for her grew because of her qualities and so on.
This verse explains why Sītā occupied Lord Rāma’s heart. She became dear to Him simply because His father had chosen her as His wife.1 Does it then mean Sītā’s unique qualities were considered by Him to be insignificant? No. His love for her increased because of her virtues such as her menial services to her husband, her beauty, nobility and so on.2 Therefore, He enjoyed her association for many seasons.