In those days, a wondrous event unfolded across the earth. From the divine powers of the gods, bears, monkeys, and creatures with cow-like tails were born, each reflecting the form, appearance, and valor of their respective deity. Each being emerged, mirroring the very likeness of the god from whom it descended. Among the Golangulas, some possessed a prowess that was even slightly superior. Monkeys were likewise born among the Riksha and Kinnari women, while the gods, great sages, Gandharvas, Garuda, renowned Yakshas, Nagas, Kimpurushas, Siddhas, Vidyadharas, and Uragas—many, delighted—begot thousands of offspring. The celestial singers produced heroic sons who roamed the forests, monkeys of immense size, all dwelling among the woods. From the foremost Apsarases, Vidyādharīs, Nāga maidens, and Gandharvīs, were born those endowed with the power to assume any form and strength at will, moving freely wherever they pleased. All these beings were as proud and strong as lions and tigers, wielding rocks as weapons, and living among trees and mountains. Their claws and fangs served as weapons, and they were skilled in every kind of arms, able to shake the king of mountains and shatter even the sturdiest trees. With their great speed, they could agitate the ocean, lord of rivers, rend the earth with their feet, and leap across vast seas. They could enter the sky, seize even the clouds, and capture wild, intoxicated elephants roaming the forest. Their roaring cries could bring down birds in flight; such were the forms of the monkeys born with the power to change shape at will. Hundreds and hundreds of thousands of mighty leaders of monkey troops were born, chiefs among the monkeys. They became the foremost of troop leaders and also produced heroic monkeys; others, in thousands, accompanied the bear-like ones on their journeys. Some took to various mountains and forests, serving Sugrīva, son of the Sun, and Vālin, son of Indra. All the monkey chiefs gathered around these two brothers, as well as Nala, Nīla, Hanumān, and other leaders of the monkey troops. All endowed with the strength of Garuḍa, skilled in battle, they roamed about, overpowering lions, tigers, and great serpents. The mighty and long-armed Vālin, of vast prowess, protected the monkeys with bear-like tails by the strength of his arms. By these heroes, the earth, with its mountains, forests, and oceans, was filled—diverse in form and marked by various features. The monkey troop leaders, mighty as masses of clouds or mountain peaks, covered the earth with fearsome forms, all for the sake of aiding Rāma. Now, listen to the eighteenth sarga. When the great horse sacrifice was completed, the gods received their shares and departed as they had come. Having fulfilled his vows and rituals, accompanied by his wives, King Daśaratha entered the city with his servants, army, and vehicles. Duly honored by the king, the lords of the earth, joyful, departed to their own lands after bowing to the eminent sage. As those illustrious kings returned to their cities, the splendid armies of the rulers, filled with delight, shone brightly. When the lords of the earth had departed, King Daśaratha, resplendent, entered his city, leading foremost among the twice-born. Ṛśyaśṛṅga, having been greatly honored, departed together with Śāntā, not detained by the wise king, along with his retinue. Having dismissed them all, the king, his mind fulfilled, remained there happily, contemplating the birth of a son. After the completion of the sacrifice, six seasons passed; then, in the twelfth month, on the ninth day of Caitra, when the star Punarvasu, presided over by Aditi, was ascendant, and five planets stood in their exalted positions, with Jupiter and the Moon together in Cancer at the ascendant, as the all-honored Lord of the Universe was rising, Kausalyā gave birth to Rāma, endowed with divine marks. Rāma was half of Viṣṇu, greatly glorious, the joy of the Ikṣvāku line, with red eyes, mighty arms, red lips, and a voice like a drum. Kausalyā shone with her son of immeasurable splendor, just as Aditi did with Indra, the wielder of the thunderbolt, among the gods. Bharata, steadfast in truth and valor, was born to Kaikeyī, being a fourth part of Viṣṇu, endowed with all virtues. Then Sumitrā gave birth to two sons, Lakṣmaṇa and Śatrughna, heroes skilled in all weapons, each possessing half the power of Viṣṇu. Bharata, of serene mind, was born under the star Puṣya, with the ascendant in Mīna; the sons of Sumitrā were born under the star Āśleṣā, with the ascendant in Karkaṭa, as the sun was rising. The king's four sons, great-souled, were born separately, each possessing virtues, fitting in form, and comparable in beauty to the twin stars Proṣṭhapada. The Gandharvas sang sweetly, the groups of Apsarases danced, divine drums resounded, and a shower of flowers fell from the sky. With melodious singing and other harmonious instruments, those vast, jewel-adorned halls resounded splendidly. The king gave gifts to bards, genealogists, and panegyrists; to the Brāhmaṇas he gave wealth and thousands of cows. After eleven days had passed, he performed the naming ceremony for his sons: the eldest, the great-souled Rāma, and Bharata, the son of Kaikeyī.