"The story of the marriage of Shiva with the daughter of the snowy mountains is like the winter; the glad rejoicings at the Lord's birth are like the dewy season; the account of the preparations for Rama's wedding are like the delightful and auspicious spring; Rama’s intolerable banishment is like the hot weather, and the story of his journeyings like the blazing sun and the wind; his encounters with fierce demons, by which he gladdens the hosts of heaven, are like the rains that refresh the fields; the prosperity of his reign, his meekness and greatness are like the clear, bountiful, and lovely autumn; the recital of the virtues of Sita, that jewel of faithful wives, is as the undefiled and excellent water; the amiability of Bharat as its unvarying coolness."