← 1.5.20 · Bāla Kāṇḍa 5: Ayodhyā’s layout and defences · 1.5.22 →
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.5.21
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.
1.5.21
siṃhavyāghravarāhāṇāṃ mattānāṃ nadatāṃ vane
hantāro niśitaiḥ śastrair balād bāhubalair api
but who were slayers of lions, tigers, and boars — furious and roaring in the forest — with sharp weapons, or forcibly even by the strength of their arms.
Words: siṃhavyāghravarāhāṇāṃ — of lions, tigers, and boars; mattānāṃ — furious, rutting, frenzied; nadatāṃ — roaring, bellowing; vane — in the forest; hantāro — slayers, killers; niśitaiḥ — with sharp(ened); śastrair — weapons; balād — by force, forcibly; bāhubalair — by strength of arm; api — even, also
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.