अहं पुनर्देवकुमाररूपमलङ्कृतं तं सुतमाव्रजन्तम्।
नन्दामि पश्यन्नपि दर्शनेन भवामि दृष्ट्वा च पुनर्युवेव॥
ahaṁ punar deva-kumāra-rūpam
alaṅkṛtaṁ taṁ sutam āvrajantam
nandāmi paśyann api darśanena
bhavāmi dṛṣṭvā ca punar yuveva
aham = I; punaḥ = but; deva-kumāra-rūpam = like the son of a deva; alaṅkṛtam = decorated; tam sutam = my son; āvrajantam = and returning [to me]; nandāmi = will become happy; paśyan = and seeing; api = just; darśanena = by thinking of; bhavāmi = I will become; dṛṣṭvā ca = upon meeting Him; punaḥ = again; yuvā = a youthful man; iva = like.
But just by thinking of and seeing my son decorated like the son of a deva and returning [to me], I will become happy. I will again become like a youthful man when I meet Him.
1 The quotations in this paragraph are from Rāmāyaṇa 2.3.18.
Ahaṁ punaḥ indicates that Daśaratha’s nature was uncommon. Deva-kumāra-rūpam indicates that Rāma’s form was naturally beautiful, like that of a demigod’s son. Alaṅkṛtam indicates that Śrī Rāmacandra’s beauty was enhanced by His ornaments.
Tat (literally “that”) indicates that Daśaratha refers to Rāma as that son of mine because [remembrances of Rāma] as “He whose face was more charming than the moon” repeatedly appear in his heart. Rāma was the object of Daśaratha’s love because He was his son. [Even] when Daśaratha thought of Rāma coming to him with excitement, “with a gait like that of an intoxicated elephant,” he would become happy. And when Daśaratha factually sees Rāma come to him, he would become strong and healthy like a youthful man.1