Shloka 1.72.5
वैवाहिकसंबन्ध-निश्चयः / Fixing the Mithila–Ayodhya Marital Alliance
अस्य धर्मात्मनो राजन् रूपेणाप्रतिमं भुवि ।सुताद्वयं नरश्रेष्ठ पत्न्यर्थं वरयामहे।।।।
asya dharmātmano rājan rūpeṇāpratimaṃ bhuvi | sutādvayaṃ naraśreṣṭha patnyarthaṃ varayāmahe ||
O King, O best of men: for this righteous one, whose beauty is unmatched upon the earth, we seek your two daughters as brides.
O King, O Eminent among men! we seek the hands of this virtuous king's two daughters, unrivalled in beauty, on earth, as consorts.
Marriage is framed as a dharmic alliance: the request is grounded in the virtue (dharmātman) of the bride’s family, suggesting that righteousness—not merely beauty—legitimizes union.
After Rāma’s marriage is agreed, the sage expands the alliance by requesting the hands of Kuśadhvaja’s two daughters for Daśaratha’s other sons.
The virtue highlighted is dharmātmatā—steadfast moral character—presented as the foremost merit of the prospective bride’s family.