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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.72.23
Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 72: Vivāha: Taking hands and circling the fire. The four princes take their brides’ hands under Vasiṣṭha’s direction, circle the fire and depart together for the guest quarters as puṣpavṛṣṭi falls, divya-dundubhis sound, apsarases dance and gandharvas sing
In the sequence: the couples perform pradakṣiṇā (rightward circumambulation) of Agni, the vedī, the King and the ṛṣis, completing the prescribed vivāha (marriage) rites
1.72.23
agniṃ pradakṣiṇaṃ kṛtvā vediṃ rājānam eva ca
ṛṣīṃś caiva mahātmānaḥ saha bhāryā raghūttamāḥ
yathoktena tathā cakrur vivāhaṃ vidhipūrvakam
Circling the fire, the altar, the king, and the seers, keeping them to their right, those great-souled best of the Raghus, together with their brides, performed the marriage duly, exactly as prescribed.
Words: agniṃ — the fire; pradakṣiṇaṃ — circumambulation (keeping to the right); kṛtvā — having made; vediṃ — the altar; rājānam — the king; eva ca — and; ṛṣīṃś — the seers; caiva — and; mahātmānaḥ — the great-souled; saha bhāryā — together with their brides; raghūttamāḥ — the best of the Raghus; yathoktena — as was prescribed; tathā — so; cakrur — performed; vivāhaṃ — the marriage; vidhipūrvakam — according to rule
Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki, the ādikavi of the ādikāvya: the first poet of the first poem. Sanskrit: The Vālmīki-Rāmāyaṇa: Critical Edition, Oriental Institute, Baroda, 1960–1975 (gen. eds. G. H. Bhatt, U. P. Shah); IAST from GRETIL (Göttingen). Translation and word glosses: Claude Opus 4.6–4.7; summaries and sequences: ChatGPT Astra (machine-made). Numbering follows the Critical Edition, not the vulgate (e.g. Gita Press, valmikiramayan.net), so sarga and verse numbers can differ from those editions.