# Bāla Kāṇḍa 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* Portion: Descriptions of Ayodhyā · Verses: 23 · Ref format: 1.5. ## 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 (5.1–4) - it introduces prosperous Kosala on the Sarayū and its capital Ayodhyā, built by Manu, twelve yojanas long and three wide (5.5–7) - Daśaratha rules a city of broad avenues and a royal road continually sprinkled with water and strewn with flowers (5.8–9) - its gates, markets, craftspeople, watchtowers, weapons, rampart, and deep moat make it busy and strongly defended (5.10–13) - tributary Kings and merchants from many countries mingle among gardens, performers, jewel-adorned palaces, and closely built houses → grain is plentiful, water sweet, and drums, lutes, and cymbals fill the streets with music (5.14–19) - the portrait closes with its trained warriors, skilled hunters, learned brāhmaṇas, sacred fires, generosity, and ṛṣis (5.20–23). ## Verses **1.5.1** sarvāpūrvam iyaṃ yeṣām āsīt kṛtsnā vasuṃdharā prajāpatim upādāya nṛpāṇāṃ jayaśālinām This whole earth in its entirety once belonged to those victorious kings, beginning with Prajāpati. **1.5.2** yeṣāṃ sa sagaro nāma sāgaro yena khānitaḥ ṣaṣṭiḥ putrasahasrāṇi yaṃ yāntaṃ paryavārayan Among them was the one named Sagara, by whom the ocean was dug out, whom his sixty thousand sons attended as he marched. **1.5.3** ikṣvākūṇām idaṃ teṣāṃ rājñāṃ vaṃśe mahātmanām mahad utpannam ākhyānaṃ rāmāyaṇam iti śrutam In the lineage of those great-souled Ikṣvāku kings arose this great tale, known as the Rāmāyaṇa. **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. **1.5.5** kosalo nāma muditaḥ sphīto janapado mahān niviṣṭaḥ sarayūtīre prabhūtadhanadhānyavān There is a great country named Kosala, joyous and flourishing, set upon the bank of the Sarayū, abounding in wealth and grain. **1.5.6** ayodhyā nāma nagarī tatrāsīl lokaviśrutā manunā mānavendreṇa yā purī nirmitā svayam There stood a world-renowned city named Ayodhyā, which city was built by Manu himself, the lord of men. **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. **1.5.8** rājamārgeṇa mahatā suvibhaktena śobhitā muktapuṣpāvakīrṇena jalasiktena nityaśaḥ It was adorned by a great, well-ordered royal highway, strewn with loose-cast flowers and sprinkled with water without cease. **1.5.9** tāṃ tu rājā daśaratho mahārāṣṭravivardhanaḥ purīm āvāsayām āsa divi devapatir yathā And King Daśaratha, enhancer of the great realm, dwelt in and peopled that city, as the lord of the gods dwells in heaven. **1.5.10** kapāṭatoraṇavatīṃ suvibhaktāntarāpaṇām sarvayantrāyudhavatīm upetāṃ sarvaśilpibhiḥ (That city) had gates and arched portals, with well-ordered inner markets, provided with every engine and weapon, and furnished with artisans of every kind; **1.5.11** sūtamāgadhasaṃbādhāṃ śrīmatīm atulaprabhām uccāṭṭāladhvajavatīṃ śataghnīśatasaṃkulām thronged with bards and panegyrists, splendid, of matchless brilliance, having lofty watchtowers and banners, and bristling with hundreds of śataghnīs; **1.5.12** vadhūnāṭakasaṅghaiś ca saṃyuktāṃ sarvataḥ purīm udyānāmravaṇopetāṃ mahatīṃ sālamekhalām the city on every side furnished with troupes of dancing-women and players, provided with pleasure-gardens and mango-groves, vast, and girdled with a rampart; **1.5.13** durgagambhīraparighāṃ durgām anyair durāsadām vājivāraṇasaṃpūrṇāṃ gobhir uṣṭraiḥ kharais tathā with a deep and impassable moat, a stronghold unassailable by foes, filled with horses and elephants, with cattle, camels, and asses as well; **1.5.14** sāmantarājasaṅghaiś ca balikarmabhir āvṛtām nānādeśanivāsaiś ca vaṇigbhir upaśobhitām thronged with hosts of vassal kings engaged in bringing tribute, and graced by merchants who dwelt there from many lands; **1.5.15** prasādai ratnavikṛtaiḥ parvatair upaśobhitām kūṭāgāraiś ca saṃpūrṇām indrasyevāmarāvatīm graced with jewel-wrought palaces towering like mountains, and full of turreted mansions — like Indra's Amarāvatī; **1.5.16** citrām aṣṭāpadākārāṃ varanārīgaṇair yutām sarvaratnasamākīrṇāṃ vimānagṛhaśobhitām brilliant, laid out foursquare like a chessboard, filled with troops of lovely women, strewn with jewels of every kind, resplendent with palatial mansions; **1.5.17** gṛhagāḍhām avicchidrāṃ samabhūmau niveśitām śālitaṇḍulasaṃpūrṇām ikṣukāṇḍarasodakām densely built with houses, with no gap between them, laid out upon level ground, abounding in rice and grain, its water sweet as the juice of sugarcane stalks; **1.5.18** dundubhībhir mṛdaṅgaiś ca vīṇābhiḥ paṇavais tathā nāditāṃ bhṛśam atyarthaṃ pṛthivyāṃ tām anuttamām resounding exceedingly with kettledrums, tabors, lutes, and cymbals — that city unequalled upon the earth; **1.5.19** vimānam iva siddhānāṃ tapasādhigataṃ divi suniveśitaveśmāntāṃ narottamasamāvṛtām like the aerial palace of the Siddhas won in heaven by austerity; with its dwellings well laid out, thronged with the noblest of men — **1.5.20** ye ca bāṇair na vidhyanti viviktam aparāparam śabdavedhyaṃ ca vitataṃ laghuhastā viśāradāḥ and skilled, nimble-handed men who would not loose their arrows at a target isolated, indistinct, spread out, or to be struck by sound alone; **1.5.21** siṃhavyāghravarāhāṇāṃ mattānāṃ nadatāṃ vane hantāro niśitaiḥ śastrair balād bāhubalair api but who were slayers of lions, tigers, and boars — furious and roaring in the forest — with sharp weapons, or forcibly even by the strength of their arms. **1.5.22** tādṛśānāṃ sahasrais tām abhipūrṇāṃ mahārathaiḥ purīm āvāsayām āsa rājā daśarathas tadā That city, filled with thousands of such great chariot-warriors, King Daśaratha then peopled. **1.5.23** tām agnimadbhir guṇavadbhir āvṛtāṃ dvijottamair vedaṣaḍaṅgapāragaiḥ sahasradaiḥ satyaratair mahātmabhir maharṣikalpair ṛṣibhiś ca kevalaiḥ That city was thronged with the best of brahmins — maintainers of the sacred fires, virtuous, masters of the Vedas and the six Vedāṅgas, givers of thousands in alms, devoted to truth, great-souled and like unto the great seers — and with sages pure and perfect.