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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.7.3

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 7: Mantharā’s alarm, Kaikeyī’s joy. Mantharā warns of danger to Bharata, Kaikeyī rewards her and declares equal affection for both princes

In the sequence: The account now returns to the preparations before the planned ceremony: from the palace roof, Mantharā notices the city's decorations and crowds

2.7.3

patākābhir varārhābhir dhvajaiś ca samalaṃkṛtām
siktāṃ candanatoyaiś ca śiraḥsnātajanair vṛtām

(She saw it) adorned with most precious pennants and banners, sprinkled with sandal-water, and thronged with people who had bathed their heads.

Words: patākābhir — with pennants; varārhābhir — most precious; dhvajaiś — with banners; ca — and; samalaṃkṛtām — well-adorned; siktāṃ — sprinkled; candanatoyaiś — with sandal-water; ca — and; śiraḥsnātajanair — with people who had bathed their heads; vṛtām — thronged, filled

Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki. 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.