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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.5.20

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: the portrait closes with its trained warriors, skilled hunters, learned brāhmaṇas, sacred fires, generosity, and ṛṣis.

1.5.20

ye ca bāṇair na vidhyanti viviktam aparāparam
śabdavedhyaṃ ca vitataṃ laghuhastā viśāradāḥ

and skilled, nimble-handed men who would not loose their arrows at a target isolated, indistinct, spread out, or to be struck by sound alone;

Words: ye ca — and who; bāṇair — with arrows; na vidhyanti — do not pierce, shoot; viviktam — an isolated, solitary (target); aparāparam — one indistinct, one after another; śabdavedhyaṃ ca — and one to be pierced by sound (alone); vitataṃ — spread out, extended (target); laghuhastā — light-handed, nimble-handed; viśāradāḥ — skilled, expert

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.