With deep devotion and trembling hands, Kausalya invoked blessings upon her beloved son, Rama, as he prepared to depart for the forest. She called upon the Sādhyas, the Viśvedevas, the Maruts, and the great sages, and prayed that Dhātā, Vidhātā, Pūṣā, Bhaga, and Aryaman would grant him all auspiciousness. She entreated the guardians of the worlds, led by Indra, to watch over him, asking that the six seasons, the months, the years, and the nights themselves might shield him from harm. Her prayers flowed on, seeking that the days and hours would always bring Rama auspiciousness, and that the Vedas, tradition, and dharma would protect him wherever he went. She invoked Skanda, Soma, Brihaspati, the seven sages, and Narada to surround him with their divine protection. She remembered the perfected beings, the guardians of the directions, and the lords of the quarters, all those she had praised in the forest, beseeching that they would always guard her son. Kausalya’s heart reached out to every corner of creation, asking the mountains, the oceans, King Varuna, the sky, the atmosphere, the earth, and the wind—with all things that move and are still—to keep Rama safe. She invoked the stars, the planets and their deities, the day and night, and the twilights, to protect him as he dwelt in the forest. She prayed that the six seasons, the months, the years, and every division of time would grant him happiness and well-being. Even as Rama wandered in the great forest, dressed as a sage and wise, Kausalya wished that gods and demons alike would bring him happiness. She prayed that he would never know fear from rakshasas, pisachas, fierce beings of cruel deeds, or flesh-eating creatures. She asked that monkeys, scorpions, biting insects, mosquitoes, reptiles, and worms would not trouble him in the dense forest. She begged that great elephants, lions, tigers, bears with fangs, buffaloes with horns, and all fierce beasts would not harm her son. Even the most fearsome flesh-eating creatures and all wild species, whom she had honored, she asked to spare him. With every breath, Kausalya yearned for auspicious omens to come to Rama, for his endeavors to succeed, and for all prosperity to be his. She prayed that blessings would rain down upon him again and again from the beings of the sky and earth, from all gods, and even from those who might oppose him. She invoked Shukra, Soma, Surya, Kubera, and Yama—whom she had worshipped—to protect Rama as he dwelt in the Dandaka forest. She called upon fire, wind, smoke, and the mantras uttered by sages to shield her son, especially during rites of purification. In this spirit of devotion, Kausalya, adorned with garlands, divine fragrances, and hymns, worshipped the hosts of gods, her eyes brimming with reverence. The chief Brahmin, taking the sacred fire, performed the ritual for Rama’s auspiciousness according to the prescribed method. Kausalya herself prepared ghee, white garlands, sacred fuel, and mustard seeds for the offering. The preceptor, having completed the rites for peace and health, arranged the external oblation with the remaining sacrificial materials. With honey, curds, clarified butter, and auspicious words, he had the brahmins recite blessings for Rama’s safe journey into the forest. At the conclusion, Kausalya gave the chief of the brahmins a fee he desired and then spoke tenderly to her son, Raghava. She wished for Rama the very blessings that arose for Indra, the thousand-eyed, at the slaying of Vṛtra, blessings revered by all the gods. She invoked the blessing Vinatā once gave Suparṇa on his quest for nectar, and the blessing Aditi bestowed on the wielder of the thunderbolt as he struck down the demons at the birth of nectar. She prayed for the blessing present when Vishnu, of incomparable brilliance, took his three great strides. She called upon the seers, the oceans, the islands, the Vedas, the worlds, and the directions to bestow auspiciousness upon her mighty-armed son. Having completed the rites for Rama, Kausalya, radiant, anointed him with fragrant substances. She performed a protective rite with well-prepared, healing, and auspicious herbs, reciting sacred mantras over him. Though her heart was heavy with sorrow, she spoke as if delighted, her words hiding the pain within. Bowing, smelling his head, and embracing him, the illustrious mother said, “Go, Rama, may you attain your desire and travel happily. May I see you, my child, returned to Ayodhya, healthy and fulfilled in all your aims, walking again the royal paths. Freed from all sorrow, my face shining with joy, I shall see you returned from the forest, like the full moon newly risen. I shall see you again, Rama, seated on an auspicious throne, returned from the forest, having fulfilled your father’s command. Having returned from the forest, endowed with blessings, always fulfill the wishes of my daughter-in-law, and go forth, my son.” She invoked the hosts of gods led by Shiva, the great sages, beings, and celestial serpents she had worshipped, praying that they—and all the directions—would wish Rama well as he set out for the forest. Her eyes overflowing with tears, having completed the blessings according to the rite, she circumambulated Raghava, again and again embracing him and gazing at him with unblinking love. Thus, having been circumambulated by his mother, the illustrious Rama repeatedly bowed and pressed her feet, then, radiant with her blessings, departed for Sita’s dwelling. This concludes the twenty-sixth chapter in the Ayodhyākāṇḍa of the glorious Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa.