The ladies of royal family were present in the room of Shri Ram, consoling the crying baby as she was being cradled by Kaushalya in her arms.

"Mata, yeh itna kyu ro rahi hai ?" Mandavi asked.

"Ise bhook lagi hai." Kaikeyi said.

"Toh mai shigreh rasoi ghar se dugdh le aati hu." Urmila said.

"Kintu Urmila, Jaatkarm sanskaar toh hone do. Shishu ko pehla ahaar iss sanskaar mei milta hai." Sumitra said.

"Kab hoga Jaatkarm ?" Shrutkirti asked.

"Jab Ram laut aaye. Pita ke bina Jaatkarm nahi ho sakta." Sumitra said.

"Nath kab aayenge ?" Devi Sita muttered.

"Shaant ho jaao putri, abhi tumhe ahaar mil jayega." Kaushalya said.

"Jiji, layiye mujhe de." Kaikeyi said.

She took the baby from Kaushalya, and began cradling her with great care.

"Kuch kshan ki hi pratiksha hai putri, fir Pitashree tumhe pratham ahaar denge." Kaikeyi cooed.

The baby stopped crying soon afterwards.

"Lagta hai aapke Goud mei koi chamatkaar hai Mata." Devi Sita said.

"Chamatkaar nahi anubhav. Baal-pan mei Ram ko bhi Kaikeyi hi chup karati thi." Kaushalya said.

"Ab hum Ram-suta ko vastra mei lapetenge, isse shishu shaant rehte hai aur acchi nidra aati hai. Chalo Sita mai tumhe sikhati hu. Tum sab bhi seekh lo, swayam ki santaane hongi toh upyogi hogi yeh sab." Kaikeyi said.

"Ji Mata." The four daughter-in-laws nodded.

And so Kaikeyi taught them the correct way to swaddle a baby as she wrapped the Ram-suta in the garment that was once used to wrap her father Ram himself, when he was a baby.

Everyone was in complete awe seeing the wrapped up bundle of joy. Devi Sita took some Kohl from her eyes with the help of her finger and applied a small dot of the side of forehead, to save her from any evil eye.

"Mata, isse pehle Nath aaye kya mai Shiromani ko apni Goud mei utha lu ? Kyuki ek baar woh aagaye toh apni putri ko Goud se utarenge hi nahi." Devi Sita said.

"Awashya." Kaikeyi chuckled giving the baby to her.

Devi Sita took her and placed the baby on her lap, admiring her adorable face. Suddenly the familiar sound of footsteps fell on her ears making her sigh.

"Kaha hai meri putri ?" Shri Ram entered excitedly with his brothers.

Seeing her father a smile appeared on the face of the Ram-suta, which turned into a giggle.

Seeing her wrapped up in a bundle he was overwhelmed by her cuteness.

"Bhabhi, meri bhatiji ko mujhe dijiye." Lakshman said.

"Nahi Nahi, pehle Mai uthayunga. Bada chacha mai hu." Bharat said.

"Parivaar ki sabse chhoti sadasya, apne chhote chacha ke paas ayegi." Shatrughan said.

"Na Na Na. Pehle Pitashree ke paas aayegi." Shri Ram said picking her, as Devi Sita shook her head with a smile.

"Bhaiya yeh anuchit hai. Hume bhi khelana hai." Lakshman said.

"Ha Bhaiya, aap hume dete hi nahi." Shatrughan said.

"Arrey itni shigrata kya hai ? Mai ek baar ji-bhaar ke khela lu, tab dedunga." Shri Ram said.

"Toh fir bhul hi jao." Bharat said.

"Baad mei khela lena putro. Abhi shigreh puja-sthal chalo aur Jaatkarm sanskaar ko purn karo. Bechari ko bhook lagi hai." Kaikeyi said.

"Aur Bharat, kya tumne sabhi taiyaariya karwa di ?" Kaushalya asked.

"Ha Mata. Jaisa aapne kaha tha, uske anusaar sampoorn Raj-bhavan ko swachh kar diya gaya hai aur Kul-Guru Vasisth ko bhi nimantran de diya hai." Bharat said.

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A/N

It's time for Ram-Suta's first sanskaar after coming to the world.

Waise different texts, different regions and different families have their own way of performing the 16 sanskars, I shall be using what sits well with the plot ✨