Sita Chalisa — Word-by-Word Meaning

I bow to the lotus feet of Janaka's beloved daughter, the abode of happiness, dear to Rama; bestow your grace, that I may remember you through all the watches of the day. Whoever reads this hymn of glory has all their tasks accomplished; may Sita-Rama, the destroyers of sorrow, take their seat in the temple of my heart. The chalisa sings the glory of Vaidehi, the beloved of Raghupati. It recounts how Sita arose from the sacred earth as Janaka's daughter; how at her Svayamvara Rama broke Shiva's mighty bow and won her; the joyous wedding and return to Ayodhya; Manthara's scheming and the fourteen-year exile; the episode of the golden deer and Sita's abduction by Ravana disguised as a mendicant; Hanuman bringing Rama's ring and receiving her crest-jewel; the bridging of the ocean and the conquest of Lanka; the return by aerial chariot; and finally, after the washerman's words, her dwelling at Valmiki's hermitage, the birth of Lava and Kusha, and her return into the bosom of Mother Earth as proof of her purity. I bow my head to Sita, the chaste and dignified Mother — Janaka's daughter, daughter of the earth, beloved of Rama, mother of Lava — in whose heart Rama's lotus feet ever reside; remember Sita at dawn.