THE VALMIKI RAMAYANA

BALA KANDA

t¦t£y:    sgI:    Canto     3
ramc¢ræOapraEX£krNm¯     Gaining   direct  knowledge   of   the   life   story   of   Sri   Rama
½¤Ïva    vÞt¤    smg#|    tÑGmaIÏma    DmIs|¢htm¯    ,
Ûy³mÓvExtE    B¥yaE    y¹¦äO|    tÞy    D£mt:

½¤Ïva

on hearing

vÞt¤

the essence of the story

smg#|

in full

tt¯

that

DmaIÏma

righteous soul

DmIs|¢htm¯

full of right conduct

Ûy³|

clearly

AÓvExtE

ponders over

B¥y:

again and again

yt¯

which

v¦äO|

story

tÞy

his

D£mt:

that wise one's

That   wise   one   and   the   soul   of   righteousness   (Valmiki),   pondered   again   and again   with   clarity   over   the life-history   of   his   (Sri   Rama),   having listened   to   the   full   narration   of   the   matter,   which   was   full   of   righteous aspects   (1).
upÞp¦ÜyaEdk|    sØyHm¤¢n:    ¢ÞTÏva    k]ta¸¢l:    ,
p#ac£nag#Ex¤    dBIx¤    DmINaÓvExtE    g¢tm¯    .2.

upÞp¦Üy

touching (for purification)

udk|

water

sØyk

as per injunctions

m¤¢n:

the sage

¢ÞTÏva

remaining

k]ta¸¢l:

with folded hands

p#ac£nag#Ex¤

ends pointing eastwards

dBIx¤

of the sacred grass

DmIN

on the strength of his dharma

AÓvExtE

thinks

g¢tm¯

about the details

The   sage,   after   sipping   the   water   as   per   injunctions,   seated   on   the   sacred grass   with   ends   pointing   eastwards,   and   with   folded   hands, engagedin mental enquiry,   thinking   along   the righteous path (2).
ramlßmNs£taB£    raja    dSrTEn    c    ,
sBayIN    sra¾®EN    yt¯p#açO|    tæO    tÏvt:    .3.

ramlXNs£ta¢B:

by Rama, Lakshmana and Sita

raMa

by the king

dSrTEn

by Dasaratha

and

sBayIN

along with wives

sra¾®EN

along with the citizens

yt¯

which

p#açO|

was attained

tæO

on that matter

tÏvt:

in fact

h¢st| Ba¢xt| cWv g¢tyaI yÅc cE¢¾tm¯ ,
tÏsvI| DmIv£yIN yTavt¯ s|p#pÜy¢t .4.

h¢st|

laughter

Ba¢xt|

words

and

also

g¢t:

all details

which

yt¯

were there

and

cE¢¾tm¯

activities

tt¯

that

svI|

all

DmIv£yIN

on the strength of his dharma

yTavt¯

in exactly the same way

s|p#pÜy¢t

observes well

He   perceives   clearly   whatever   was   attained,   (as   also   the   deeds,   humorous episodes   and   words   uttered   by   them), by   Sri   Rama,   Lakshmana   and   Sita as   also   by   king   Dasaratha,   along   with   his   queens   and   the   people,   in exactly   the   same   manner   in   which they   had   occured   due   to   his   strength of   righteousness   (3-4).
ÞæO£t¦t£yEn    c    tda    yt¯p#açO|    crta    vnE    ,
sÏysÓDEn      ramEN    tÏsvI|    caÓvvWXt    .5.

ÞæO£t¦t£yEn

the lady (Sita) being the third (of the group)

and

tda

then

yt¯

that which

p#açO|

was obtained

crta

while on the move

vnE

in the forest

sÏysÓDEn

by the one who is always truthful

ramEN

by Sri Rama

tt¯

that

svI|

all

and

AÓvvWXt

had direct vision

He   could   also   witness   all   that   happened   in   the   forest,   during   the   sojourn of   Sri   Rama,   wedded   to   truth,   with   the   dame   (Sita)   as   the   third   person then   (5).
tt:    pÜy¢t    DmaIÏma    tÏsvI|    yaEgma¢ÞTt:    ,
p¤ra    yäOæO    ¢nrv¦äO|    paNavamlk|    yTa    .6.

tt:

moreover

pÜy¢t

comprehends clearly

DmaIÏma

that soul of righteousness

tt¯

that

svI|

all

yaEg|

trance

Aa¢ÞTt:

having entered

p¤ra

in the past

yt¯

which

tæO

during that time (and place)

¢nrv¦äO|

that which happened

paNaW

on the palm

Aamlkm¯

gooseberry

yTa

Thereafter   also,   that   soul   of   righteousness,   entering   the   stage   of   trance, was   able   to   know   every   incident   in   the   past   about   them   as   clearly   as   a gooseberry   kept   on   the   palm   of   the   hand   (6).
tÏsvI|    tÏvtaE    ¾va    DmIN    s    mhaï¤¢t:    ,
A¢BramÞy    ramÞy    c¢rt|    kt¤Im¤ït:    .7.

tt¯

that

svI|

all

tÏvt:

as it happened

¾va

having seen

DmIN

by practice of dharma

s:	he (Valmiki)

mhaï¤¢t:

extremely radiant

A¢BramÞy

one who has stolen the hearts of the people

ramÞy

of Sri Rama

c¢rt|

history

kt¤I|

to compose

uït:

set himself to the task

kamaTIg¤Ns|y¤³| DmaITIg¤N¢vÞtrm¯ ,
sm¤d#¢mv rÏnaFY| svI½¤¢tmnaEhrm¯ .8.

kam

desire

ATI

wealth

g¤N

other attributes

s|y¤³|

comprising

DmI

right conduct

ATI

wealth

g¤N

other attributes

¢vÞtrm¯

in expanse

sm¤d#|

the ocean

rÏnaFY|

full of precious stones

svI½¤¢tmnaEhrm¯

captivating the ears and the minds of all the people

That   sage   of   great   effulgence,   having   learnt   about   everything   as   it   had happened,   on   the   strength   of   his   righteous   character,   commenced   composing the   life-story   of   Sri   Rama,   which   steals   the   hearts   of   all   and   is   studded with   incidents   of   the   four-fold   aim   of   life   (Dharma,   Artha,   Kama   and Moksha)   and   thus,   heightening   the   wonder   of   the   reader   and   which   story is   comparable   to   the   ocean   having   plentiful   precious stones and giving pleasure to the ears and minds of all the listeners(7-8).
yTavt¯    k¢Tt|    p¥vI|    nardEn    mh¢xINa    ,
rG¤v|SÞy    c¢rt|    ckar    Bgvan¦¢x:    .9.

yTavt¯

in whatever manner

k¢Tt|

was narrated

p¥vI|

earlier

nardEn

by Narada

mh¢xINa

by the great sage (Valmiki)

rG¤v|SÞy

of the Raghu dynasty

c¢rt|

history

ckar

composed

Bgvan¯

lord

§¢x:

the sage (Valmiki)

jÓm ramÞy s¤mh¹£yI| svaIn¤k\ltam¯ ,
laEkÞy ¢p#yta| Xa¢Ót| saWØyta| sÏyS£ltam¯ .10.

jÓm

the birth

ramÞy

of Sri Rama

mht¯

very great

v£yI|

valour

svaIn¤k\ltam¯

favourable disposition towards everyone

laEkÞy

of the people

¢p#yta|

being loved

Xa¢Ót|

tolerance

saWØyta|

kindness

sÏyS£ltam¯

truthful conduct

That great sage (re-told) the history of the raghu dynasty, exactly in the same manner in which he heard it from the great seer Narada and the auspicious birth of Sri Rama, his great prowess, his amiable disposition towards all, patience, kindness, truthful conduct and concern for the people (9-10).
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