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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.5.18

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 5: Ayodhyā’s layout and defences. The narrative introduces Kosala on the Sarayū and its capital, describing Ayodhyā’s roads, defences, markets and abundant provisions

In the sequence: tributary Kings and merchants from many countries mingle among gardens, performers, jewel-adorned palaces, and closely built houses → grain is plentiful, water sweet, and drums, lutes, and cymbals fill the streets with music

1.5.18

dundubhībhir mṛdaṅgaiś ca vīṇābhiḥ paṇavais tathā
nāditāṃ bhṛśam atyarthaṃ pṛthivyāṃ tām anuttamām

resounding exceedingly with kettledrums, tabors, lutes, and cymbals — that city unequalled upon the earth;

Words: dundubhībhir — with kettledrums; mṛdaṅgaiś ca — and with tabors; vīṇābhiḥ — with lutes (vīṇās); paṇavais — with small drums, cymbals; tathā — likewise, as well; nāditāṃ — made to resound, ringing; bhṛśam — exceedingly, greatly; atyarthaṃ — beyond measure, excessively; pṛthivyāṃ — on the earth; tām — that (city); anuttamām — unequalled, peerless

Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki, the ādikavi of the ādikāvya: the first poet of the first poem. Sanskrit: The Vālmīki-Rāmāyaṇa: Critical Edition, Oriental Institute, Baroda, 1960–1975 (gen. eds. G. H. Bhatt, U. P. Shah); IAST from GRETIL (Göttingen). Translation and word glosses: Claude Opus 4.6–4.7; summaries and sequences: ChatGPT Astra (machine-made). Numbering follows the Critical Edition, not the vulgate (e.g. Gita Press, valmikiramayan.net), so sarga and verse numbers can differ from those editions.