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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.5.7

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: it introduces prosperous Kosala on the Sarayū and its capital Ayodhyā, built by Manu, twelve yojanas long and three wide

1.5.7

āyatā daśa ca dve ca yojanāni mahāpurī
śrīmatī trīṇi vistīrṇā suvibhaktamahāpathā

The splendid great city stretched twelve yojanas in length and three in breadth, with its grand avenues well laid out.

Words: āyatā — extended, long; daśa ca dve ca — ten and two (twelve); yojanāni — yojanas; mahāpurī — the great city; śrīmatī — splendid, glorious; trīṇi — three; vistīrṇā — broad, extended (in width); suvibhaktamahāpathā — with well-laid-out grand avenues

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.