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राम
Leela Scene

The Mothers Wash the Feet of Their Sons and Daughters

Bala Kanda, Doha 349

Doha 349 · Movement 2 of 2

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The mothers follow both Vedic ordinance and the noble customs of their lineage. Arghya is offered, sacred water pours, and the feet of the beloved sons and brides are washed at the palace threshold.

The rite honours divinity without losing intimacy. Hands that once cared for the princes as children now receive them as bridegrooms, while the daughters of Mithila are welcomed into the same circle of reverence.

Only after every form of welcome is complete do the mothers lead the couples within. Water has crossed their feet, blessing has crossed their lives, and the palace opens not merely as a residence but as a consecrated home for four new households.

Through water, arghya, and loving hands, the palace receives eight children as one family.

Read the passage from the Manas
A ceremonial cloth leads up palace steps through an open doorway beside a golden arghya bowl, in jeweled stained glass.

AI-created devotional illustration · Doha 349

Complete sourceDOHA349/HindiPDF333; selectedclothlaidwelcomeentry andarghya, allpeopleoffcrop.

Source reference and artistic choices

Gita Press code81 undated · PDF pages 333 · printed pages 331. Reader passage: bala-kanda-doha-350. Printed numbering may differ.

Source facts

  • MOTHERS follow VEDIC NITI AND FAMILY CUSTOMS, giveARGHYA and PAONDE CLOTHS laidFORWALKING.
  • Mothers performPARICHHAN ALLSONS WITHBRIDES thenLEADINTOHOME.
  • PAONDE notfootwashing/shoes; nextC347 separately seatscouples andwashesfeet.
  • Chosenentrance/pathcloth/arghyabowl objects representselectedritualportion; allmothers/couples offcrop noempty-eventclaim.

Artistic choices

  • PASS E03 ZEROheads/hands/text. ONE creamgold patternedclothpath followscontinuousstonesteps fromforeground throughOPENdoorway; crediblefolds/stepcontact. ONEgoldbowl clearwater pinkpetals right arghyaartistdepiction notexactrecipe. Jeweledleadlinedfloralarch glasspanes artistlake/chandelier/columns/courtyard. No feetwashing footwear people literalgods. Palacegeometry/materials artistchoice nothistorycertificate.
  • Exact poses/gazes/numericalages/clothes/ornamentcounts/geargeometryfastening/materials/spatialframing artistchoices not history or wholeparticipant/anatomy/motion/audible/emotionmotive census. Fullsourceoffcrop facts retained noabsenceinference/corpuscorrection/inventedHindi/publishing. Source comparisons/characterinsults/threats not physicaltransformations/violentevents.

An imaginative interpretation, not a historical portrait or documentary evidence.

निगम नीति कुल रीति करि अरघ पाँवड़े देत। बधुन्ह सहित सुत परिछि सब चलीं लवाइ निकेत।।349।।

Observing the rites prescribed by the Vedas and the customs of their noble lineage, they offer arghya and wash the feet of the beloved. Having thus welcomed all the sons together with their brides, the mothers lead them lovingly into the home.