Ramáyana Book II: Ayódhya: Ancilliaries

Sarga 1  

Ck, said to be missing for sargas 1-3 in the manuscripts used in preparing the crit. ed. (Vaidya 1962, p. 3), appears in the printed edition of the commentary (Mysore, 1964) and is utilized here.

1.1  

“the delight of the Raghus” raghunandanaḥ: Raghu is the name of an eponymous ancestor of Daśaratha’s clan, whence the normal patronymic Rāghava, cf. 102.22. The zero-grade form is also thus used, though much less frequently (see, for example, 6.96.20).

1.2  

Yudhājit: See 172.1ff. After this verse several N and S manuscripts add: “Therefore you should go from here with him, to see your maternal grandfather, my son” (4*). Cg and Cr, from whose texts this verse is absent, remark that the king only indirectly tells his son to leave because he could not bear his absence (but cf. 4.25ff. below).

1.3  

In an N interpolation after this verse, Kaikeyī learns and approves of her son’s departure (7*; cf. 8.19 below). Some manuscripts append a long passage containing Daśaratha’s parting advice to his son and his urging him to take Śatrughna along (App. I, No. 1; No. 2.1-32).

1.4  

“tireless” akliṣṭakāriṇam: Literally, “acting without difficulty,” an epithet used almost exclusively of Rāma (and Kṛṣṇa). (Cg, Ck, and Ct offer the traditional interpretation, “whose character it is to act in such a way that no one is hurt.”) Note how perfunctorily the poet dismisses Bharata and Śatrughna. The N recension, however, in various interpolations after verse 4, describes Bharata’s departure, voyage. arrival, and stay among the Kekayas (App. I, No. 2.33ff.; No. 3); his course of education there (which includes learning how to write, No. 2.67, 117 = No. 4.4, 117); and his dispatch of a messenger to Daśaratha informing him that he is ready to return hone (No. 2.64ff. = No. 4 [erroneously recorded after verse 14]).

1.5  

“his father” pitā tasya: That is, Yudhājit’s father. The city of the Kekayas was Rājagṛha also called Girivraja), located in the Punjab (cf. note on 8.22 and sarga 62, where the journey to Rājagṛha is described).

1.6  

“his uncle Aśvapati” mātulenāśvapatinā: Cg takes Aśvapati (literally, “lord of horses”) to be another name of Yudhājit, while at the same time (like Cr) giving it a functional value: “He honored Bharata by giving him purebred horses and so on.” Kaikeyī is called “the daughter of Aśvapati” below (9.16, 28.4), and in 64.19, 22 the king of the Kekayas is clearly named Aśvapati and distinguished from Yudhājit. That Vālmīki nods here is unlikely, asyndeton is possible: “by his uncle (and) by (his grandfather) Aśvapati” (see 66.6 and note); Cv (on 64.191 may be correct, however, in supposing Aśvapati to be a cognomen of the men of this family.

1.7  

“they often thought with longing of … Daśaratha” smaratāṃ … daśaratham: This suggests to Cm (Ct) the brothers’ fear that, considering the age of the king, they might have insufficient time to fulfill the proper dharma of sons, which is obedience. Cg finds the implication to be that they wondered whether the king would consecrate Rāma as prince regent, since he himself was now too old to bear the burden of kingship.

1.8  

The simile, according to Cg, refers to the unwavering friendship of Indra and Varuṇa.

1.9  

“as if they were four arms” catvāra iva bāhavaḥ: For Ct the verse metaphorically represents the king as the four-armed Viṣṇu (this idea is made explicit in some N manuscripts, which read, “they were like the arms of Viṣṇu”).

1.10  

“just as the self-existent Brahmā” svayaṃbhūr iva: The simile owes its existence in part to alliteration (svayaṃbhūr … bhūtānāṃ babhūva). Cm extends it: Rāma, being more virtuous, pleased his father more, as Brahmā similarly pleases his father Viṣṇu.

After this verse the S recension inserts: “For he was eternal Viṣṇu born in the world of men when begged by the gods, who were seeking the destruction of haughty Rāvaṇa” (10*.1-2). Note that Rāvaṇa will not be mentioned in Book Two except at 104.4 (see note there) and 108.11.

1.14  

“merchants” naigamāḥ: So Cg, Ck, Ct; Cm, “townsmen”; Cr construes with brāhmaṇāḥ, that is, “who followed the vedas:” In the Rām nigama- always and naigama usually (except at 2.33.16 and possibly 98.71) appear to refer to the merchant class.

1.15–28  

This long catalogue of Rāma’s virtues is not merely epic convention; it seeks to demonstrate that Rāma meets all the qualifications for kingship demanded by the Arthaśāstra (so Ctr vol. 1, pp. 5ff.).

1.18  

“of noble descent” kalyāṇābhijanaḥ: Also possible: “both sides of his family were blessed in him” (so Cg, “with whom, by whom his mother’s and father’s family were distinguished”; for the idea see MBh 2.70.5).

1.19  

“knowledgeable and adept in the social proprieties” laukike samayācāre kṛtakalpo viśāradaḥ: Ck and Ct, finding a chiasmus, join kṛtakalpaḥ with laukike (“had acquired skill in worldly affairs”), and viśāradaḥ with samayācāre (“clever, able in dharma”). We follow the more natural interpretation of Gm and Cg.

1.20  

“skilled in the practice of them” kṛtajñaḥ: That this is the meaning of the compound seems clearly to be indicated by its juxtaposition to śāstrajñaḥ, “learned in the sciences,” that is, in theoretical knowledge (cf. 16.31 and note, 23.4 and note, where the signification is similar; also possibly in MBh 7.36.4 and 50.31). The distinction between “theory”‘ (śāstra) and practice (usually prayoga), which becomes so important in classical Indian culture, is drawn here for perhaps the first time.

“an excellent judge of men” puruṣāntarakovidaḥ: Less likely, “could tell the inner feelings of men (at first glance):” Ct and Cr.

“to show his favor or withhold it” pragrahanigrahayoḥ: The crit. ed.’s reading in pāda c, pragrahānugrahayoḥ, makes little sense; the gloss of Cm and Cg. “to win and keep friends,” fits poorly with yathānyāyam (“when it was appropriate”). The formula in the epics consists either of the pair pragraha- and nigraha- (cf. 6.20.5; MBh 4.4.33 and Raghu Vira 1936 ad loc., as also 16* here), or nigraha and anugraha- (cf. 4.17.28; Ct, Cr here are forced to gloss pragraha- as nigraha-). The segment -ānu- is sufficiently disputed in the manuscripts that preserve the verse to favor our conjecture, pragrahanigrahayoḥ.

1.21  

“He knew the right means” upāyajñaḥ: “As a bee draws honey from flowers, that is, without oppressing the people,” Cm and Cg; “as the sun draws water with its rays, that is, effortlessly;” Cr.

“the accepted way” samdṛṣṭa Cm, Cg, Ct, and Cr cite: “Kings should pay their expenditures with [that is, should restrict their expenditures to] one quarter, or two or three, of their revenue [but never more]” (cf. MBh 2.5.60); Ck states simply, “The dharma is that expenditure should not exceed income.” See 94.45 below.

“even the most complex” vyāmiśrakeṣu ca: Cm, Cg, Ck, Ct, and Cr explain, “(śāstras) composed in mixed language, that is, Sanskrit with the Prākrits,” but no such śāstras exist (except in a certain special sense for the later alaṃkāraśāstra or science of rhetoric), and furthermore the word is nowhere attested with this meaning (vyāmiśra- in MahāBh on 3.1.26 end is not instructive, nor can we here follow Lüder’s “bei Parteiungen” [1940, p. 421. n2]).

1.22  

“all aspects of political life” arthavibhāga: Cm, Cg, Ct, and Cr explain more specifically, “the various uses of wealth,” and cite: “A man fares well both in this world and the next if he spends his money in these five ways) on dharma, glory, artha, himself, and his relatives”; Ck, for contextual reasons, interprets artha as the doctrines of the Bharatīyanāṭyaśāstra, the textbook on dramaturgy.

1.25  

“bow to the will of time” kālavaśānugaḥ: This is a very literal translation, for we are not certain of the precise meaning of the compound. Presumably something like “fall victim to procrastination” or “wait upon events” is meant (cf. 94.14, 56 below). Less likely, “give in to fate” (literally, “to time”), as in MBh 13.1.44, which would be quite inappropriately used of Rāma, who throughout the poem will assert how irresistible is the power of fate. The commentators offer interesting if irrelevant theological interpretations emphasizing the Blessed One’s transcendence of time.

1.26  

“the three worlds” triṣu lokeṣu: Usually understood as earth, sky, and heaven, populated by mortal, semidivine, and divine beings.

“patient as the earth” vasudhāyāḥ kṣamāguṇaiḥ: -guṇaiḥ has probably been attracted into the plural by the presence of guṇaiḥ in pāda a.

1.28  

“the gods who guard the world” lokapāla-: The gods who were thought of as guardians of the directions: Indra (east). Yama (south), Varuṇa (west), and Kubera (north). In the later epic period, world-protectors of the intermediate directions were included: Agni, Nairṛta, Vāyu, and Īśa.

1.30  

“consecrated” abhiṣiktam: Literally, “sprinkled” with water at the ceremony for inducting the prince regent into office.

1.33  

“that … I might go to heaven” yathā svargam avāpnuyām: This is best analyzed as an absolute use of yathā with the optative to express a wish (yathā with imperative used absolutely perhaps in 15.7; cf. yadi with imperative as absolute in 53.19). The commentators do not persuasively account for yathā (Cg, Ck, and Cr, for example, read in compound: yathāsvargam “whatever heaven I deserve”).

1.34  

“prince regent” yuvarājam: Literally, “young king.” The prince so appointed (and note here that it is not a foregone conclusion that Rāma would be appointed; cf. also 4.5ff., 4.38) would assume most of the duties and prerogatives of kingship, but not all of them. His powers were limited so long as the king remained alive or did not retire to the forest to live the life of a hermit (cf. 47.7ff., especially verses 11-12; 52.16).

All but the NE manuscripts add hereafter that Daśaratha had also been frightened by the appearance of ominous portents and, additionally, had suddenly come to realize how old he himself was (27*; cf. 4.17ff.).

NE manuscripts omit verses 34ff. up to 2.14. This omission of the preliminary meeting with the ministers led Ruben to speculate on the development of royal autonomy through the epic period: absolute in the period of the “original” poem (whether in fact or in theory only) and gradually delimited in the period reflected in what he thought the later stratum (S and NW) of the text (Ruben 1936, p. 68); obviously this is speculation only.

1.35  

Many N manuscripts add after this, “Then the subjects gathered, the chief brahmans and kshatriyas” (29*), whereas the SR inserts 30*, which contains the interesting verse: “However, because of his haste he did not invite the king of Kekaya or Janaka, thinking that they would hear the good news afterwards.” The motive behind Daśaratha’s haste and his reluctance to inform the Kekaya king will become clear in sarga 4.

1.36  

“nobles” nṛpāḥ: The term seems to be used like rāja- in the Brāhmaṇas (cf. Rau 1957, pp. 47ff.). Possibly “(vassal) princes” of the monarch Daśaratha, though their position and authority are never clearly defined.

1.37  

“the men of the city and provinces” purālayair jānapādaiś ca: This appears to refer — though no previous mention of them is included in the crit. ed. — to the leading citizens of Ayodhyā (so Ct and Cr; brahmans would of course be included among them) and of the outlying provinces, who, as we shall see, were present in addition to the nobles or vassal princes (cf. 2.18, 27 and note).

“the thousand-eyed lord” sahasracakṣur bhagavān: Ct suggests that the epithet applied to Indra is significant here: Daśaratha too has a “thousand eyes” — his spies — by which he knows what all his vassals and subjects are thinking.

2.5  

“The white parasol” pāṇḍurasyātapasya: A symbol of royalty.

2.6  

“I have lived a life of many, countless, years” prāpya varṣasahasrāṇi bahūny āyūṃṣi jīvataḥ: Sahasra: need not always (in fact, occasionally must not) be taken literally in the Rām; cf. note on 31.16 and Cg on 2.1.11 vulgate, who cites: “‘Hundred; ‘thousand,’ ‘billion’ are all used to connote simply ‘countless.’” Bahūni, moreover, construes not with āyūṃṣi but with pāda a; cf. the NW lection bahūny āyuś ca, and the parallel phrase in verse 15 below. Finally, āyūṃṣi (the internal object to jīvatah), means “years of life” (not “lifetimes”); cf. the NW āyuś ca pālitam. Grammar and the human character and scale of the Ayodhyākāṇḍa force us to reject the interpretation of the commentators, who understand both sahasrāṇi and āyūṃṣi literally, specifying that Daśaratha has lived “60,000 years, many lifetimes” of one hundred yeas each. They have in mind, of course, the (textually later) statement of 1.19.10. There is no indication in Rām Books 2-6 that the narrative takes place during the Tretā Yuga, which might be thought to justify the king’s longevity.

2.7  

Inasmuch as Daśaratha is explaining why the kingship has wearied him, the first line of the verse should give substance to his explanation. I therefore understand as follows: A king is responsible for the maintenance of dharma; with this charge come royal prerogatives (rājaprabhāva-) for the enforcement of dharma; and the constant self-vigilance necessary for justly exercising these prerogatives (cf. 3.26) has consumed his strength.

2.8  

“twice-born” dvija-: Men of the first three varṇas (brahmans, kshatriyas, and vaishyas, though often the word is used to refer only to brahmans).They are said to be “born again” when they are inducted into Aryan society at the initiation ceremony, which takes place sometime between the eighth and twelfth year.

2.10  

“a union as propitious as the moon’s with the constellation Puṣya” candram iva puṣyeṇa yuktam: A particularly auspicious time, on which important ceremonies are by preference held (Draupaḍī’s marriage, for example, MBh 1.190.5), or on which major events take place (for example, the Buddha’s renunciation, enlightenment, and parinirvāṇa [cf. Przyluski 1926, p. 88], or indeed, according to the Southern tradition, Rāma’s birth [see note on 1.17.5]). Rāma will return from exile to Ayodhyā on Puṣya day (6.114.45). The simile is all the more apposite in that Rāma’s consecration itself will be scheduled for that day (3.24). The constellation Puṣya consists of three stars of Cancer (Kirfel 1920, p. 36).

2.12  

The SR inserts four lines after this verse, in which Daśaratha asks for the assembly’s approval or, that failing, for further suggestions (35*).

2.13  

“the rumble (of a … cloud)” (mahāmeghaṃ) nardantam: Cm, Cg, Ck, Ct, and Cr all read nardanta (“[peacocks] crying” [not recorded thus in the crit. app.]), but the crit. ed. reading fits better with verse 2, and Vālmīki uses the root nard frequently of clouds (e.g., 6.41.25). The monsoon marks the beginning of the mating season for peacocks; they are said to welcome the thundering clouds with cries of greeting.

2.14  

The assembly’s first response (verse 15) is pro forma, based on their recognition of the legitimacy of the succession. It is only when Daśaratha, not wanting merely to be humored on this account, presses them that they give a heartfelt answer (verses 18ff.). Ruben offers various other possible explanations for Daśaratha’s behavior here (1950, pp. 297ff.).

After pādas ab, the SR inserts: “The brahmans and the chiefs of the army, together with the people of the city and provinces, after they had assembled and consulted, reached unanimity” (37*).

2.15  

“have lived many, countless, years” anekavarṣasāhasraḥ: See the note on verse 6 above.

“(prince regent) of the land” (yuvarājānam … ) pārthivam: For this literal sense of pārthiva- cf. 22.10 below.

2.18  

“the virtues of your son are many and excellent” bahavo … kalyāṇā guṇāḥ putrasya santi te: Cg cites Yāmunācārya: “[The Blessed One is] endowed with a host of virtues — innate, boundless, countless, excellent” (this line is found in the Gadyatraya, which is dubiously ascribed to Rāmānuja).

2.21  

“unspiteful” anasūyakaḥ: Having just been used in verse 20 (“never spiteful”), the adjective here is taken by Cv, Cm, Ct, and Cy as a bahuvrīhi compound, “he was the object of no one’s spite,” in their hopes of explaining the iteration.

“grateful” kṛtajñaḥ: Or, “skillful” (cf. note to 1.20).

2.22  

The two ca’s here function as restrictive particles: Rāma would speak only kind words, and only true words; he would never give voice to a compliment that was untrue or to a truth that might be painful (so Cg). Compare the famous prescription of Manu cited in the note on 46.36-37 below.

2.27  

Up until now the main participants in the assembly appear to have been the nobles (cf. 1.35ff., 2.13); the situation described here and in verse 26, however, would apply to brahmans (their presence is suggested in 1.37 and 2.8, 18, but faintly enough to call forth interpolations, cf. notes on verse 14 above, and on 1.35). Ck (Ct) attempts to rectify matters by addressing 27b to the kings (“are they [your servants] prompt”; cf. also 3.3 and note, and compare the make-up of the later assembly, 75.11). As Ruben remarks, our manuscripts no longer enable us to determine with certainty the constitution of the assembly (1936, p. 68 n228). Here, as elsewhere, Vālmīki shows himself to be unfamiliar with the actual workings of the monarchical state.

2.28  

“When misfortune strikes anyone Rāma feels the sorrow keenly” vyasaneṣu manuṣyāṇām bhṛśaṃ bhavati duḥkhitaḥ: The line has considerable importance in the history of South Indian Vaishnavism for the theological question about the nature of the pity (dayā) of God. The position of the Teṅgalai sect is that God’s pity is His sharing of man’s sufferings: since everything the Rām says is true, this passage is speaking of real suffering on the part of Rāma. The Vaḍagalai doctrine is that God’s pity consists in the desire to assuage the suffering of others: when in His avatars God appears to suffer, this is not real but only mimetic (abhinaya), for otherwise it would fundamentally contradict God’s blissful essence (cf. Siauve 1978, pp. 62-63 with notes). We shall have frequent occasion to remark on the latter tenet and its impact on the Rām commentators both in the Ayodhyākāṇḍa and, even more, in the Aranyakāṇḍa.

“celebrations” utsaveṣu: These are normally held to be the seasonal festivals (cf. Gonda 1947, pp. 149ff.): Cg more relevantly calls them “celebrations on the birth of a child.”

2.29  

After pādas ab, S manuscripts insert nine lines, including: “He has handsome brows, long coppery eyes, is like Viṣṇu in very person” (55*.3).

2.30–32  

The articulation of these verses agrees with Cm, Cg, Ck, and Ct (against the crit. ed.’s implication).

2.32  

“all the gods” sarvān devān: Cg remarks that the women worship the gods indiscriminately, making no distinctions among them according to whether they are superior or inferior gods, vedic or nonvedic, because they are infatuated by their love for Rāma. And that they do worship, he continues, is another consequence of their infatuation: they erroneously believe that the gods are able to protect Rāma, whereas, in fact, it is he who protects them.

“O god” deva: The vocative here and in verse 34 is addressed to Daśaratha.

2.33  

“Grant … that we may see” paśyāmaḥ: Indicative for imperative (as in 4.4.21).

2.34  

“O god” deva: This agrees with Cg (first explanation) and Ck in taking deva as vocative. Cm, Ct, and Cr take it in combination, “‘like the god of gods,’ that is, Viṣṇu” (an appellation more often used of Śiva [see 1.35.9, 65.13] or of Brahmā in Sanskrit literature). but this locution is not found in Rām 2-6.

“granter of boons” varada: Usually a nonspecific commendatory epithet of a generous king, here taking on some color from the context. (The MBh connects it with putrapradāna, “giving [fathering] a son,” 14.93.26.)

3.2  

“grandeur” prabhāvaḥ: One might translate, “how matchless my (must be),” and see some implication that the appointment of a prince regent rested on a king’s ability to impose his will by virtue of his political power and influence. But Daśaratha would hardly be expected to voice so provocative a sentiment in open assembly. Furthermore, the tone of the assembly so far (and see the beginning of the next verse) suggests that the deliberative procedures described here are not consultative but more or less ceremonial. (When Daśaratha later comes to allow the accession of Bharata, no consultation with the assembly is required.)

3.3  

“had paid the brahmans this honor in return” iti pratyarcya tān … brāhmaṇān: This agrees with Cg, syntactically the most natural interpretation of the verse. Ck (so Cm?) understands nṛpān with tān, whereas Ct and Cr read paurajānapadān and awkwardly construe brāhmaṇān with the main verb. The problem arises, again, from ambiguity as to who the king’s principal interlocutors are (cf. note on 2.27).

3.4  

“month of Caitra”: Mid-March to mid-April.

After this verse most manuscripts include thirty-three lines (App. 1, No. 6) in which Vasiṣṭha orders the various preparations for Rāma’s consecration (63* shows the two brahmans writing out a list of things to be done).

3.5  

“It shall be done” kṛtam: Past participle with immediate future sense (see 16.47 below), as often in the Rām (2.9.45, 23.22, 33.26, 34.17, 49.2. etc.). The usage is similar to, but not quite the same as ādikarmaṇi kta (Pā 3.4.71, which indicates the actual commencement of the action); it is closer to the finite perfect in Greek and Latin, which can denote a “certainty or likelihood that an action will take place” (Goodwin 1893, p. 15). Was it a misinterpretation of this usage that caused the insertion noted at verse 4?

“with joy and delight” prītau harṣayuktau: Cm, Cg, Ck, and Ct, here, as elsewhere, explain away the pleonasm by identifying the first as mental pleasure, the second as its physical manifestation.

“just as you command” yathoktavacanam: Cm, Cg, Ck, Ct, and Cr all explain the phrase as part of the brahmans’ statement, even though direct discourse in the Rām is rarely articulated, like this, over the hemistich boundary.

3.9  

“aryan and barbarian” mlecchāś cāryāś ca: “‘Aryans,’ those who dwell in Madhyadeśa (north-central India)” — Ct; Cr reasonably, but awkwardly, construes “aryan” with the kings of the directions and “barbarians” with the kings of the forests and mountains. Cg and Ck read instead mlecchācāryāḥ, “teachers (that is, kings and at the same time spiritual guides) of the barbarians” (not recorded in the crit. ed.). This reading finds support in the MBh (12.4.8); see Belvalkar’s note ad loc. Raghavan, too, favored this reading and gives various additional arguments in support of it (Raghavan 1968, p. 597). Some N manuscripts substitute yavanāḥ, “Greeks,” and in 9b “the Śakas (Scythians) who live in the mountains:”

3.10  

“royal seer” rājarṣim: Daśaratha. The title “royal seer” is applied, it seems, to virtually any aged king.

3.11  

“a bull elephant in rut” mattamātaṅga-: The commentators are not sure whether the bull elephant in rut carries himself in a proud and sportive manner or very slowly (Cm and Cg).

3.12  

“he ravished both the sight and hearts of men” puṃsāṃ dṛṣṭicittāpahāriṇam: Cg comments as follows: if he can ravish the hearts of men, who are by nature insensitive, how much more easily can he steal away the hearts of women (so Cm); or “men” may be a general term for “self, soul” and thus connote “all creatures”; or, finally, men may, when seeing Rāma, conceive the desire to become women and so to experience Rāma completely, an idea which finds expression in the following verse: “The women who saw lotus-eyed Pāñcālī washing her full hips wished for a moment that they were men” (untraced).

3.15  

“charioteer” sūtena: He combines the offices of charioteer and poet, in particular the singer of epic and puranic tales (see note on 6.6).

3.20  

“By virtue of the simile we understand that the assembly hall was already to some extent irradiated by the presence of Daśaratha, Vasiṣṭha, and the others,” Cm and Cg.

3.23  

“worthy” sadṛśa-: The adjective is grammatically absolute (as in 107.5, 110.34, 36, etc.; Cr glosses, “similar to me,” so Ck). Rāma and Kausalyā are “worthy” in the sense that they share a rank and status commensurate with the king’s.

“most virtuous” guṇaśreṣṭhaḥ: -jyeṣṭhaḥ, “eldest (in virtue)” (as in MBh 2.68.4), is perhaps to be preferred to the -śreṣṭhaḥ of the crit. ed., for it is widely attested, establishes a characteristic symmetry with pāda a, and (if only obliquely) underscores a primary theme of the book, primogeniture. One manuscript, G1, offers what may be the authentic reading, “virtuous and the eldest.”

3.27  

“overt and covert activities” parokṣayā … vṛttyā pratyakṣayā: Covert activity would include espionage; overt activity, the king’s personal handling of duties, and his close observation of events (Cg, Ct, and Cr). Cm paraphrases the two as personal and delegated supervision of royal business.

“subjects” prakṛtīḥ: The word can mean “the people” in general (for example, 40.4, or 6.116.33) or, more specifically, as perhaps here, the six constituent elements of the state besides the king himself: minister(s), realm, fortified city, treasury, army, and allies (cf. ArthŚā 6.1.1ff.; cf. 84.7 and note). Cg and Ck gloss the passage, “the ministers, general, urban police, the people of the city and provinces, and all the subjects.”

3.29  

“bearing the good news” priyakāriṇaḥ: Note the NR reading priyanivedinaḥ, which may be interpreted as a gloss, and the sense priya- must have in verse 30 and frequently elsewhere (4.9, 7.29, 10.1, 14.,. 62.15, etc.). PW curiously can adduce no citation but Indian lexica.

3.32  

“worshiped the gods” devān samānarcuḥ: The purpose of the worship would be to ward off any hostile influences that might impede Rāma’s consecration (Cm, Cg, Ck, Ct), not to offer thanksgiving.

4.1  

“When he learned what they had determined” niścayajñaḥ: The king learns from the brahmans that Puṣya is to come into conjunction with the moon on the very next day. Niścayajñaḥ is unlikely to be an ornamental epithet, despite the anaphoric use of niścayam; it is too rare for that, and the only other occurrence in the Rām, 6.25.15. tends to support this interpretation.

4.2  

“his eyes as coppery as lotuses” rājīvatāmrāksaḥ: A sign of beauty and youth (see Roşu 1969, pp. 37ff.).

4.7  

“comings and goings” gamanāyetarāya vā: Literally, “going or the other,” that is, coming (so Cm, Cg; with equal probability Ck, Ct, “going or not going”: “a servant cannot order his master to go,” Ck [but see 14.11]).

4.10  

“at a distance prostrated himself” dūrāt praṇipatya: Rāma bows at a distance (contrast 3.16) for fear of what his father might have to tell him (Ck, Ct).

4.14  

“I have discharged all my debts” anṛṇo ‘smi: Every man is born with “debts” that he must pay before death. Normally three are recognized (to the seers, gods, and fathers, to be paid by vedic study, sacrifices, and male offspring, respectively); a fourth (to brahmans, to be paid by alms) and a fifth (to oneself, paid by pleasure or simply self-preservation) are later, and the commentators here feel obliged to defend them. In 98.64 only the three debts are mentioned.

4.17  

“lightning bolts out of a clear sky” -nirghātāḥ: Thus explained by Cg (see Bṛhajjā cited on 3.22.15; for the Latins this was by contrast a good omen; see Vergil, Aeneid, 8.523ff.). A D insertion (92*) adds hurricanes and earthquakes.

4.18  

Aṅgāraka: Mars.

4.20  

“resolve” cetaḥ: So we translate (in agreement with Cm, Cg, Ck, Ct), especially in view of pāda d (see also verse 27), which cannot imply going mad (still less dying). The omens warn Daśaratha of some terrible calamity in the offing, and in order to avert it, he fears he might ultimately be induced to abandon his plans for Rāma’s consecration. The impression is given, however, that a more specific reason behind the king’s fear of irresoluteness is being suppressed, namely, the possibility of Kaikeyī’s demanding that he make good what he promised her (so too Cg, Ck, Ct; see note on verse 25 below). It may, in fact, be his very deception of her (and the unrighteousness it signifies) to which he tacitly attributes the appearance of the ominous portents.

4.21  

Punarvasu: This constellation corresponds to two stars of Gemini (Kirfel 1920, p. 36).

“predict” vakṣyante: Ck notes simply that the tense and voice are archaic. The verb may be attracted into the future by pāda c, or is perhaps an example of the weakening of the future tense (so Cr; see 27.4 and note, and Renou 1968, p. 462).

4.25  

Cm, Cg comment that Daśaratha is thinking of the promise he made when marrying Kaikeyī, that her son would succeed to the throne (see 99.3 and note; less attractive is Cm’s second interpretation, that the king merely doubts Bharata’s self-control as he does his own in verse 20). How much Rāma knows of the marriage promise at this point is open to question. Cr maintains that this passage implies Rāma does know, but this of course would mean that Rāma is assisting his father in breaking his word, whereas the whole Rām is predicated on his efforts “to preserve his father’s truthfulness.” However, we are never shown where Rāma does learn of it (see the Introduction, Chapter 4).

4.27  

“is best presented with an accomplished fact” kṛtaśobhi: Literally, “is enhanced by (adorned by, appears to its best with) the act accomplished” (for the idea see MBh 5.38.16, kariṣyan na prabhāṣeta kṛtāny eva ca darśayet, “Before the deed is done one should not divulge it; one should reveal accomplished facts”). This interpretation agrees substantially with Cm’s second suggestion: “The idea is this: If Rāma’s consecration is performed immediately, then Bharata too would be pleased, or at least resigned, for there would be nothing he could do about it; if not, if it were still within his grasp, then Bharata might conceive a desire for the kingship himself.” Ck (Ct) is just possible: “even such a man’s mind ‘is adorned with,’ that is, is affected by, things ‘brought about’ — passion, hatred, etc. — through whatever cause. No person has all his emotions wholly under his control; if he did, he would not be here in the sea of transmigration, with waves of pain and joy cresting about him.”

4.29  

“In keeping with the king’s instructions regarding the consecration” rājñoddiṣṭe ‘bhiṣecane: A viṣayasaptamī (as in the previous verse), rather than sati (Cr), or nimitta (Cg, Ck, Ct). Rāma returns home as the king’s directions for the consecration require, but leaves again on not finding Sītā.

4.31  

“Sītā had been sent for” sītā … ānāyitā: Having no independent status, Sītā could not come of her own accord, like Sumitrā and Lakṣmaṇa; Kausalyā would have her brought by her servants (Cg) (see verse 45).

4.33  

“the Primal Being” puruṣam: The cosmic man first described in ṚV 10.90; here, like Janārdana, a name of Viṣṇu, to whom this is one of the relatively few references in the Ayodhyākāṇḍa (see note on 22.18).

4.37  

“auspicious rites” maṅgalāni: “She is to have costly perfumes made ready, and garlands, garments, jewelry, and so on, and to have ritual baths and similar acts performed,” Ck, Ct.

4.39  

“my kinsmen and Sumitrā’s” jñātīn me … sumitrāyāś ca: Notice that no mention is made of Kaikeyī. Only through vague intimations of this sort are we to learn of the profound enmity between the two women (see, for example, 8.26).

4.42  

“He smiled” smayann iva: Probably we have here metrical shortening for eva (so Ck); less likely, “half-smiling” (Cg, Ct), the Gioconda smile often attributed to Kṛṣṇa.

4.43  

“rule this land with me” imām mayā sārdhaṃ praśādhi tvaṃ vasuṃdharām: Later Rāma will, in fact, offer to make Lakṣmaṇa heir-apparent. but the latter will refuse (6.116.77-78).

4.44  

“the fruits of kingship” rājyaphalāni: Ck, Ct rightly gloss “dharma and artha.” The rewards of sovereignty consist not only of one-sixth of the wealth of the kingdom (precious objects, clothes, ornaments — Cm, Cg), and of the fame produced by such wealth (Cr), but also of one-sixth of the spiritual merit of the people of the kingdom (as is emphasized in 3.5.13; see ManuSm 8.304).

5.2  

Kākutstha: Rāma. Like “Rāghava,” this is a patronymic applied to all the members of the lineage (see also 102.22).

5.4  

“courtyards” kakṣyāḥ: We should probably think of these “courtyards” or “enclosures” as concentric or emboxed (as in the description of Vasantasenā’s palace in Mṛcch 4; see below 13.28 and note, and note on 15.12). To be allowed to proceed through the courtyards on a chariot appears to be a mark of high respect.

9. Yayāti: Son of Nahuṣa, he was “universal emperor” and father of five sons (Yadu, Puru, etc.), from whom were descended the five great clans of the Mahābhārata epic. (See MBh 1.70.29ff. and below, 11.1 and note. Observe that in 102.27 below, Nahuṣa is included in the solar dynasty, whereas in 1.69.29-30 both he and Yayāti are so reckoned; see also note on 58.36.)

5.10  

After this verse a few eastern and D manuscripts add that Rāma “made his guru the gift of a thousand cows and ten” (98*).

5.15  

“royal highways” rājamārgāḥ: A main thoroughfare leading directly from one of the city gates to the royal palace (Schlingloff 1969, p. 8 n5).

5.17  

“thoroughfares … sprinkled” sikta- … -rathyā: The streets would be sprinkled with scented water, probably to lay the dust.

“fresh” tadahar-: This item is to be joined in compound with vana-, “flowers of that day,” that is, fresh (see VIṣṇUP 5.6.12, tadaharjāta-), against the commentators, who construe it as an independent adverb (“on that day”).

5.19  

“an occasion for their adornment” prajālaṃkārabhūtam: The phrase is obscure. Cg comments, “[an occasion] rich in ornaments for, or of, the people,” that is, richly distributed to them, or richly worn by them.

5.20  

A verb governing -mārgam is wanting (unless it is vyūhan, with janaugham as a bahuvrīhi compound).

5.21  

“a mountain peak wreathed in white clouds” sitābhraśikhara-: madhyamapadalopi (or elliptical) compound as in agryaveṣapramadā- in verse 24 below (see 23.15; so partially Cr on 6.11 [second interpretation]), not upamānapūrvapada (“peaks like white clouds,” Ct, Cr).

5.24  

“womenfolk in rich attire” agryaveṣapramadājana-: Represented in the simile by the stars; see 3.20.

6.1  

“worshiped” upāgamat: See 3.6.21 for this sense of the verb, which appears to be unattested elsewhere (thus too the commentators: “‘went to,’ that is, in his thoughts,” Ck, so Cr; Cm, Ct, “paid worship” [Ctś. “‘went to’ the sanctuary of Nārayaṇa”]). Many N manuscripts read, “went in with his wife, like Nārāyaṇa with Lakṣmī.”

Ck notes, “In accordance with the shastric statement that ‘no king exists without Viṣṇu,’ Viṣṇu [Nārāyaṇa] must be worshiped for the sake of kingship.” On the intimate relationship between the god Viṣṇu and kingship see Gonda 1969, pp. 58-59, and especially pp. 164-67.

6.3  

“earnestly made his wish” āśāsyātmanaḥ priyam: Ctr (vol. 1, p. 83) cites ĀpaŚS: “After pouring the oblation one should meditate on what one desires” (1.5.1289 in the edition of Narasiṃhācār).

6.4  

“restraining his desire” niyatamānasaḥ: As in verse 1 above, the underlying thought of the phrase is no doubt correctly explicated by the NE gloss, “suppressing [his desire for] sexual congress” with his wife (this too is likely to be the real function of the instrumental phrases in both verses). See 4.23 above.

“sanctuary” āyatane: It is uncertain whether w can infer from such passages as this (see verse 11) that any significant temple cult was in existence at the time this stratum of the Rām was composed; we have virtually no concrete information about the construction of such places of worship. (Ck and Ct note that the “sanctuary” would be located in Rāma’s palace.)

6.5  

“With one watch of the night remaining” ekayāmāvaśiṣṭāyāṃ rātryām: Night consists of three watches, each about. three hours long.

6.6  

“bards” sūta-: Royal charioteers and advisers, as well as reciters of the epics and upaniṣads.

“genealogists” māgadha-: Apparently hailing originally from Magadha (modern Bihar), they recite the royal lineage.

“panegyrists” bandin-: Also called vaitālika; they perform praise-poems for the king, especially at the royal levee. The different functions of the three positions are not always distinguished in the Rām or later literature. The sūta Sumantra is called both “master of ancient tales” (purāṇavit) in 13.17, and bandin in 14.9; whereas the bandins go to awaken the king in 59.l, in 75.1 it is the sūitas and māgadhas who do so.

“he began to intone his prayers” jajāpa: Rāma’s prayers would include the Gāyatrīmantra (Cg), the early-morning hymn directed to the sun (ṚV 3.62.10).

6.10  

“they began to adorn the city” cakre śobhayitum purīm: We read, as in principle the crit. ed. should have, with the SR (the accepted NR reading is weak: “They once again made grand decoration”). The inconsistency, in light of 5.17, is of a sort not uncommon in the epic.

6.11  

“shrines” caityeṣu: These need not be Buddhist shrines in particular (though that is how Cg and Ck gloss), nor “brick-piles for the vedic sacrifices” (Belvalkar on MBh 12.29.18). Cf. MBh 12.69.39-40, where clearly it is a tree shrine that is meant (see note on 62.12).

6.15  

“In public squares and private houses” catvareṣu gṛheṣu ca: The fact that the people praise Rāma in private no less than in public shows there is nothing contrived about their love for him (Cg).

“in praise (of Rāma)” (rām)ābhiṣṭava-: Both here and in verse 16c below we read thus for the crit. ed.’s (rām)ābhiṣeka-, “(spoke … about Rāma’s) consecration,” which is, uncharacteristically for Vālmīki, redundant here in view of pāda c. The lection adopted has the important, virtually conclusive, concurrent testimony of Cm, Cg, most S and NE manuscripts (NW has a substitute verse); note also verse 20 below, which seems to be an analytical expression for the compound here (and see 6.97.28, rāghavastavasaṃyuktā [vāk]).

“now that his consecration was at hand” rāmābhiṣeke saṃprāpte: Perhaps the suggestion is that, with Rāma on the point of being crowned, the people no longer feel it necessary to conceal their preference for him as against any other Ikṣvāku claimant.

6.18  

“anticipating that night would fall” niśāgamanaśaṅkayā: Before Rāma takes his postinaugural tour of the city.

“lantern-trees” dīpavṛkṣān: “Sorts of lamp-posts consisting of many branches, like a tree,” Ck, so Cg, Ct (Cr, “trees characterized by branches fit for placing lamps there”; see Belvalkar on MBh 12.195.9).

6.22  

“for a long time to come” cirāya: The common sense of the dative of this word (see 31.33, 3.16.21, etc.; so Cr here). Just possible also, “at long last” (see 47.33), with an implicit criticism of Daśaratha’s reign.

“can tell good people from bad” dṛṣṭalokaparāvaraḥ: The phrase appears to be used in a moral sense n the Rām; see 56.6 (in reference to Kausalyā), and note the similar one in 34.27 Ck, Ct are close: “who understands exactly what is and is not praiseworthy in his people” (Cm, Cg struggle: “who has seen superior and inferior things in the world”). Most N manuscripts give, “who has seen [= come to distinguish] higher from lower principles,” but it is unlikely that the phrase is ever used with a philosophical significance in the Rām, as it is in the MBh, (see MBh 12.219.14. and 13.80.7 and the commentator cited ad loc. by Dandekar; but see Rām 3.10.15, 5.50.8).

6.28  

“Indra’s residence” indrakṣaya-: “That is, Amarāvati,” Cm. Ct, Cr. Kṣaya- can also mean a structure (that is, a palace), and Cg defends this meaning here, claiming that the comparison of Ayodhyā not to Indra’s city but to his palace, which is the very core of the city, serves to suggest even more Ayodhyā’s marvelous beauty.

7.1  

Cg (so Cm) points out that, although the events of the previous sarga take place on the evening before (6.1-8) and the early morning of the day of the consecration (6.9-28), the events of sarga 7 are described as happening on the day before (since only one thing can be told at a time”). For a discussion of this narrative technique, see Chapter 6 of the Introduction to this volume.

“from the time of her birth” yato jātā: This interpretation differs from that of the commentators, who understand “born somewhere or other,” that is, of obscure origin (Cm, Cg). Their intention is either to debase further the wicked Mantharā, or to underscore the fact that, as “an agent of the gods,” her provenance cannot be any more explicitly revealed (thus “the old teachers” cited by Cg). Ct mentions here the Padmapurāṇa’s revisionist account of Mantharā as an apsaras come to earth to effect the object of the gods (which is the story also in the MBh; see 3.260.9-10, Chapter 4 and note 6 of the Introduction to this volume). Ck ridicules the whole interpretation, which he ascribes to Yadvābhaṭṭa (“the master of equivocation,” probably Cg; compare their comments on 5.49.27), but his own is just as unacceptable (“‘since she was a family servant’ she descended ‘in a fury’ [verse 8], on hearing of Rāma’s consecration”).

7.3  

“freshly bathed” śiraḥsnāta-: The townsfolk would take ritual baths for the auspicious occasion (Cm).

7.4  

“a nursemaid” dhātrīm: The one Rāma had as a child, according to the commentators.

“has always been so miserly” arthaparā: Thus in agreement with Cm and Cg; Ck, Ct, Cr try variously to palliate the insult. Cg suggests further that Mantharā calls her “Rāma’s mother” because she cannot bear to speak her name.

7.9  

Before this verse, N manuscripts insert the following passage, in order to provide some kind of motive for Mantharā’s ill-will “She remembered a former injury, and was resolved on evil towards Rāma [read niścitapāpā?]. For once, when she had done something wrong, Rāma struck her with his foot and she fell to the ground” (124*; see 122*).

“malevolent” papādarśinī: Literally, “envisaging evil.” Ct understands it in a causative sense, “pointing out the evil” (that is, the threat to Bharata); Cr, “instructing in evil.”

7.11  

“Your beautiful face has lost its charm” aniṣṭe subhagākāre: Understood as a sati saptamī (thus, with some minor differences, Ck); Cg analyzes as vocative: “You who are only superficially happy [see below], but really unloved [by the king]”; whereas Ct suggests a viṣayasaptamī, referring to the king: “(Why do you boast of your beauty’s power) over him who, while outwardly ‘providing marital felicity,’ is really ‘unkind’ [to you]?” The phrase is echoed in the MBh version, 3.261.17-18.

“beautiful” subhaga-, “power of … beauty” saubhāgya-: The words connote additionally “marital felicity.” See Ingalls 1962, p. 95: “When applied to men and women … subhaga maintains at least a portion of its ancient, etymological meaning, ‘lucky, especially in love.’ … When applied to a person one may explicate subhaga as ‘possessing that sort of beauty which wins and holds the love of one’s partner.’”