Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 74: Construction of Bharata’s route · 2.74.2 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.74.1

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 74: Construction of Bharata’s route. Workers clear and level the ground, plant trees, dig wells and build supplied, defended camps along the road to the Gaṅgā

In the sequence: Surveyors, builders, diggers, carpenters, tree-cutters, well-makers, and other workers move ahead

2.74.1

atha bhūmipradeśajñāḥ sūtrakarmaviśāradāḥ
svakarmābhiratāḥ śūrāḥ khanakā yantrakās tathā

Then those who knew the lay of the land, skilled in surveying with the measuring-line, devoted to their tasks and stout of heart, and diggers and machinists as well,

Words: atha — then; bhūmipradeśajñāḥ — knowers of the terrain; sūtrakarmaviśāradāḥ — skilled in surveying with the measuring-line; svakarmābhiratāḥ — devoted to their own tasks; śūrāḥ — valiant; khanakā — diggers; yantrakās — machinists, engineers; tathā — as well

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.