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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.76.15
Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 76: Return to Ayodhyā: The couples’ reception and married life. Rāma gives the bow to Varuṇa and comforts Daśaratha, Ayodhyā welcomes the couples and Rāma & Sītā grow in mutual affection
In the sequence: his affection grows through her character, beauty, and their honored marriage → her love answers his, understood heart to heart
1.76.15
priyā tu sītā rāmasya dārāḥ pitṛkṛtā iti
guṇād rūpaguṇāc cāpi prītir bhūyo vyavardhata
Sītā was dear to Rāma, both because she was the wife given by his father and because of her virtue and the excellence of her beauty; and his love for her grew ever greater.
Words: priyā — dear; tu — and; sītā — Sītā; rāmasya — to Rāma; dārāḥ — the wife; pitṛkṛtā — given by his father; iti — (thinking) that, because; guṇād — because of her virtue; rūpaguṇāc — because of the excellence of her beauty; cāpi — and also; prītir — love, affection; bhūyo — ever more; vyavardhata — grew, increased
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.