← 1.6.4 · Bāla Kāṇḍa 6: Daśaratha and Ayodhyā’s inhabitants · 1.6.6 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.6.5

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 6: Daśaratha and Ayodhyā’s inhabitants. Daśaratha rules a prosperous and disciplined population, supported by trained warriors, fine horses and powerful elephants

In the sequence: The narrator describes Daśaratha as learned, far-sighted, self-controlled, powerful, rich in allies, and loved by town and countryside → his protection of Ayodhyā is compared to Indra's protection of Amarāvatī

1.6.5

tena satyābhisaṃdhena trivargam anutiṣṭhatā
pālitā sā purī śreṣṭhendreṇa ivāmarāvatī

By him, true to his word and pursuing the three aims of life, that best of cities was protected, as Amarāvatī is by Indra.

Words: tena — by him; satyābhisaṃdhena — true to his word; trivargam — the three aims (dharma, artha, kāma); anutiṣṭhatā — pursuing, practising; pālitā — was protected, ruled; sā — that; purī — city; śreṣṭhendreṇa — (the) best (city), by Indra; ivāmarāvatī — like Amarāvatī

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.