Chaitra

Chaitra is named as a lovely, flower-filled time of spring and as the season in which preparations begin to appoint Ráma as heir. The month therefore gives the succession announcement a vivid seasonal setting, joining the renewal of the natural world to the planned continuation of the royal line.

Seasonal Character

The text describes Chaitra through its flowering trees: flowers are sweet on every bough. This is a concrete seasonal marker rather than a detailed calendar specification; the passage identifies the month with spring but supplies no day or further calendrical precision.

Chaitra and the Succession Announcement

In Chaitra, the monarch announces that the necessary preparations should be made promptly for Ráma’s appointment as heir. The explicit appeal to the season makes the announcement feel timely, while the call to act with haste turns the month into the setting for an imminent political transition.

Spring as a Recurring Marker

Elsewhere, a canto opens with the return of spring and its genial heat. That passage confirms that seasonal change recurs in the poem’s temporal framing, but it does not name Chaitra; the text’s direct association of Chaitra with flowering branches and the heir’s appointment remains distinct.