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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.5.19

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

1.5.19

vimānam iva siddhānāṃ tapasādhigataṃ divi
suniveśitaveśmāntāṃ narottamasamāvṛtām

like the aerial palace of the Siddhas won in heaven by austerity; with its dwellings well laid out, thronged with the noblest of men —

Words: vimānam iva — like an aerial palace, celestial car; siddhānāṃ — of the Siddhas (perfected beings); tapasādhigataṃ — won by austerity; divi — in heaven; suniveśitaveśmāntāṃ — with its house-interiors well laid out; narottamasamāvṛtām — thronged with the best of men

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.