bAla kANDam, sarga 5
Individual verses with meanings
Listen to the audio of recitation of this sarga
Hari: Om.
Let us begin the fifth sarga by offering our prostrations at the lotus feet of SrIrAma and our sathguru.
With the divine blessings of SrIrAma and our sathguru, here we embark on the 5th sarga of bAlakAnDam. So far, maharshi vAlmIki gave us a detailed view of how the epic poem of rAmAyaNam was conceived by his deep desire to write about the “wonderful and perfect being” and his purity of desire brought unto him the divine sage nArada who gave rAmayaNam in brief to him. Then lord brahmA appeared and blessed sage vAlmIki with clairvoyance to write an as-it-happened account of rAma’s story. In this sarga, the real story of rAmayaNam begins.
From the beginning of humanity, the earth belonged to valorous and victorious kings who have descended from prajApati or manu. Among those powerful kings was an emperor by name sagara, who with the sixty-thousand sons that surrounded him was responsible for forming the ocean [this will come in more detail in due course]! He belonged to the redoubtable ikshvAku dynasty that gave birth to a lineage of mighty monarchs. It is in this dynasty that the celebrated and famous kAvyam or poem rAmayaNam also takes birth. maharshi vAlmIki says, ‘I shall propagate this account of rAmayaNam that comprises of the triple virtues of dharma, artha and kAma (righteousness, means and desire) and it deserves to be heard by all without any prejudice.’
[with the blessings of sage vAlmIki, let us begin propagation of this epic]
There on the banks of the river sarayu is situated a province by name kOsala which was prosperous, wealthy and had abundant food grains. ayOdhya is a city situated in that province which was built verily by the first among men, manu. The prosperous and pleasing city ayOdhya was beautiful with well-laid roads and paths, and measured 12 yOjanas in length and 3 yOjanas in breadth.
[the definition of a yOjana is something I’m not sure of, searches yield different accounts with their own justifications. 8km per yOjana seems to be most acceptable.]
The principal highways of the city were levelled, had blossoming trees on either sides and water was sprinkled on them regularly. An emperor by name daSaratha was the famed and great ruler of this province of kOSala, and he developed the kingdom into prosperity, just like indra, the lord of Gods. The city was home to several artificers and sculptors and looked charming with well-decked arches and gateways, neatly arranged shopping places and possessed numerous artefacts and weapons. It had excellent high rise edifices sporting various flags, theatres with female dancers and actors. There were several poets and genealogists who would enthrall people with their mastery over history and language. The suburbs of the city were laced with beautiful gardens, mango groves and rows of sal trees. The city had abundant cattle as well as horses, mules, camels and elephants. It had multiple missiles and other weapons, and was very well fortified, with a deep moat which made it difficult to access for the enemies. Several subordinate kings paid tribute to ayOdhya and merchants and visitors from other states thronged the city. With palaces and mansions decorated with precious gems and stones and its various hillocks, the city verily looked like the capital of indra – amarAvati.
Further, the men and women of the city, adorned with stunning gems dwelled in multi-storeyed edifices. The houses were constructed on even grounds with no space wasted and had adequate provisions for storing food grains and sugarcane. Reverberating with music emanating from stringed instruments like vINa, percussion instruments like mrdangam, wind instruments such as trumpets and many others, the city of ayOdhya was matchless on the face of the earth. The layout and plan of ayOdhya, where the noblest of men resided, having orderly roads, edifices, dwelling places and all sorts of amenities, was reminiscent of one of the aerially levitating cars in the heavens that had been acquired by siddhas of great merit through their penance!
The city was home to thousands of great warriors known as maharathas, who were sharp and skilled archers that could track down a target just by the hint of the sound without even looking at it (a technique known as SabdabhEdi which some of the modern day guided missiles boast of) and hunted fearlessly the wildest of animals in the forest. However, these men would not harm a solitary or defenceless person or one fleeing from them. Further, the city had priests and brAhmins who were proficient in the conduct of sacrificial fire rituals as well as experts in the philosophies of vEda and vEdAngas. They were so erudite and noble that they were verily like the sages.
In such a splendid city did the emperor daSaratha live.
Here we conclude the 5th sarga of the bAla kAnDam of SrImath vAlmiKi rAmAyaNam and humbly offer it at the lotus feet of SrIrAma. Hari: Om!
jAi SrIrAma.
[vAlmikI’s description of the ayOdhya as a model city that was diligently planned, militarily equipped, culturally exuberant, musically entertaining, commercially enterprising, visually appealing with a noble population indeed lays out the key requirements of cities and towns for us. The detail to which the sage goes is mind-boggling indeed.]
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rAmabhaktisAmrAjyam 