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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.5.4

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 narrative now turns back to the beginning of Rāma's story, placing it in the Ikṣvāku dynasty, whose ancestors include Sagara and his sixty thousand sons

1.5.4

tad idaṃ vartayiṣyāmi sarvaṃ nikhilam āditaḥ
dharmakāmārthasahitaṃ śrotavyam anasūyayā

This entire tale I shall now relate in full from the beginning — replete with dharma, artha, and kāma — to be heard without ill will.

Words: tad idaṃ — this very; vartayiṣyāmi — I shall relate, narrate; sarvaṃ — all, whole; nikhilam — entire, complete; āditaḥ — from the beginning; dharmakāmārthasahitaṃ — joined with dharma, kāma and artha; śrotavyam — to be heard; anasūyayā — without envy or spite, ungrudgingly

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.