Kamba Ramayanam- Bala Kandam-I (Padalam 1-4)

Kamba Ramayanam- Bala Kandam-I

Translated by

P.R.Ramachander

       (Unlike the Valmiki Ramayana,  Kamba Ramayana does not start with  Valmiki asking sage Narada    to  suggest a proper Subject   for writing an epic.  It  starts as per the grammatical rules for writing Tamil  epics, with a prayer to God, a short introduction    about his inabilities followed by  picturesque   description of the river surrounding Kosala kingdom,  , Kosala kingdom, city of Ayodhya, the rule of Ayodhya   and a short description of the king. These  are given in five chapters   and the rest of the book deals with story   from birth of Rama till his marriage with Sita and  their return to Ayodhya)

 Payiram- Prayer to God and introduction

(  Here the great  poet prays  to God  to  help him complete the huge  task  that he has undertaken and also gives an introduction to the task that he is undertaking.)

1.He   who forever  plays     the sports   of

Creating  all the world  by his thought,

Looks  after  it  and destroys it ,

And is our lord and we only surrender to him. 

2.I do not know  how to realize the  goodness ,

That cannot be easily  realized of  that   God,

But  among  those  three  qualities only the first one  is good,

And  so drown and play  in the sea of goodness of those people.

3.Those   people learned the beginning , end and rare  of everything ,

But know that  Vedas are that   which can be measured   and not measured,

Those who do not  have any desires   would not catch  hold of any other feet ,

Except  the feet   of He   who is the abode of wisdom, good conduct  and goodness.

4.One cat reached   that  great ocean of milk

And desired   to drink it all  by licking and slapping,

And  like that I desired to tell   the  whole story ,

Of Rama who  won over everything   without   committing any fault .

5.I started spinning    this tale by using  simple  understandable words ,

Of  the greatness  of that great one , who by one arrow pierced    the seven Mara Maras ,

Definitely like the  curses  of great ones  becoming   true immediately,

Which was told   in this country  by  its  first poet which even today lives.

6.  In spite  of Making the heavens curse  me and that guilt  getting attached to me ,

The reason for which I am writing     this is because ,

I wanted  to make the world  understand the greatness  of those godly poets,

Whose poetic skill came  from and  has come from questions which are not the untruth.

7. If those ears which are  the store house of different type  of poems,

Happen to hear my poems , they like  the Asuna  animal whose ear  drinks,

Only the soulful music of the lyre would feel like   it  heard,

The  harsh   sounds produced by playing of drums.

 

8. I would very much like to tell those great poets ,

Who are experts in composing   Tamil literature , song and Drama ,

“Would those words told by mad ones   or  by ignorant ones,

Or  by the ones who are devoted be analyzed  and researched?”

9, If  on the floors of the room   little children and dancing dames ,

Make scratches , would   the   architects   bother about it?

Reading  this inferior poems written by me, which does not have,

Even  with a little knowledge of God, would  expert writers  get angry?

10. Though this story was written by three  people  in Sanskrit,

I have followed   that   one which was   written first  and I have ,

Written in Tamizh language using  poems.

11.Basing on good character and   describing  the happenings,

Of the very great  Hero    from the time   of his birth ,

This epic has been written in  a faultless  language ,

And was composed in Thiruvennai Nallore of Chadayappan.

1.Bala Kandam

1.AAthu Padalam

1.The chapter on river.

( The author as per  the  grammar  of epics in Tamil language  , goes on to give a description  of the back ground of the  place  where  the story took place. He naturally starts with the river, which  during those times and even today  determines the prosperity of the country. In this and in the following chapters , the poet possibly describes   his own country  and environment and follows the great tamil tradition. The river around Ayodhya was Sarayu , which was a tributary  to  the river Ganges. Dasaratha was ruling over the Kosa;a country with Ayodhya   as its capital. Some of his forefathers had lost the country that they were ruling   and Dasaratha   got the kingdom of Kosala from his queen Kausalya)

12. Both those five edged   arrows which do  many crimes,

And    the arrow  like eyes of those ladies  who have .

Busts  laden   with  very many ornaments ,

Do not go  beyond Dharma in the Kosala  country,

And we would talk about the river  that  encircles  that  country.

13. Those clouds  that resemble the colour of the ash coated God,

After making  the paths it  travels over beautiful and after gathering food from the sea,

Became of the colour of him who is  being approached by Goddess Lakshmi,

Having breasts coloured with the smoke  of incense and then returned.

14.That sea sent those  clouds  spread densely   thinking that ,

“My father in law *  has become   very   dry,

Due to the heat of the sun and so I   will bathe him with water,”

And made them pour water all over the mountain, and rose very high.

*(Sea is the husband of all rivers  and mountains  their father.)

15. Similar  to the devas thinking that  that Himalaya mountain was made  of Gold,

And made the stars  fall  all over the mountain like a rain of silver,

Similar  to the philanthropists   giving their    all ,

The clouds gave away    all the water they had  to that mountain.

16.The water  in the river (Sarayu)  flowed rapidly like ,

The travel of the fame  of those great kings  who ruled under  a cool umbrella ,

Who had  great sense of self respect and who followed  Dharma and who followed  justice of Manu,

And like the charity being given to  the wise Brahmins  who knew  the four Vedas.

17. Like hugging  the heads  , bodies and hands  and

Without stopping there  , deserting them after some time,

The water took away all   that  was anywhere  in the mountain,

And  flowed swiftly in the river like a courtesan.

18.Because it was flowing carrying gems, gold , peacock feathers,

Pretty   tusks of the elephant. Incense ,sandal , incomparable garlands

From one place to other , that river resembled the men of trade.

19. Arranging many coloured flowers , fixing soft pollen  grains,

Getting mixed with honey , having pure golden crystals,

And also carrying the  Must   which flowed   from elephants,

That river   resembled   the many coloured  rainbow.

20.Because it was  carrying Mountains, Uprooted  trees ,

And nearby leaves and bringing them,  that river  resembled ,

The  movement  of the monkeys when Rama    wanted

To bridge   the ocean  which  was full of waves.

21. With  flies and bees hovering around it ,

With it crossing  its  boundaries,

Increased  enthusiasm  making  it looking greatly confused,

And due to it dragging teak would logs and burping ,

That river looked  like  the men who drank alcohol.

22.With huge headed  joyful elephants dragging,

Large number of other animals in a  formation,

Making huge  sounds and with flag like ,

Scenes arising there from  which were  seen there ,

The  river appeared to march for a battle against the sea.

23. Adopting the very good  character  which should be appreciated ,

Among   the innumerable   kings of the clan of the sun,

That river Sarayu,  to all the beings  in   worlds surrounded by water,

Was  continuous  similar   to the feeding breasts  of   the mother.

24.Since it was dragging and bringing  the scented powders made by ladies of Mountain,

Along with   saffron  , kottaam,  cardamom, the sandal* which makes  the body shiver with cold,

Vetchi flower , citrus , lemon grass , myrobalam, kondrai, aathi  , different type of leaves,

The bee hives of the mountain  , logs of Akil tree  the Water of the  Sarayu river was scented.

    (* Sandal and cardamom are not found on Himalayas but on western ghats)

25.Due to making hunters living in small villages by rain of  arrows (water)run way,

Due to driving  away  hunter ladies , making them beat again and again their belly  with their hands

By showering arrows with sharp ends and bows  similar to  the  showering of water similar to the waves,

That river  was similar to the army of a king who use to win in the battle.

26.Stealing together the well set curd, butter   and Ghee.

And  eating   all of them together, breaking huge Marudha  and kurutha trees,

Drenching  the eyes of cowherd women and stealing al the dresses that they wear,

And dancing on the snake decorated by  lions as well  as dots,

Is the holy pure one   and the holy river was also like that.

27.Lashing  against the doors of  dams , making the cultivators  shout with joy,

Making the streams fill up with water, making the honey bees   drilling holes,

Pushing the water   and separating series of gems, making whirl pools  fall by its tide,

It was similar to the elephant  which rains must and reached the cultivated land.

28.Making the forests in to mountainous land.

Making  cultivated lands to forests,

Making the grassy sea shore in to matchless  cultivated lands,

And carrying innumerable things from one place to another,

It resembled fate which was dragging  events  , the way it liked.

29.With the alarm ringing  showing  arrival of water,

In the water  canals guarded   by the farmers,

With the water  bubbles which travel in proper fashion,

With gold  and gems being thrown by the tides of the river,

Heightened by tide, . Standing tall   due to great waves,

Tearing the earth and going ahead, taking  water,

From one canal to another, the waters  of the  river Sarayu,

Travelled similar to branches of families of human beings.

30 The waters of  the river   born in between rocks of Himalayas,

And merging with the  waters  of the sea ,

Seems to say that  the boundless Vedas,

Were  telling , “This is the divine truth,”,

By being  single while   it began and later  spread,

Among the lakes   and ponds   all over ,

And was similar to the words of  many religious scholars ,

Who studied the books and told about  a single divine truth.

31. The waters  of Sarayu wandered  all over,

In gardens where  lots of pollen grains fall,

In the   forests thickly occupied by Champa  trees,

In the  newly  form sand banks  all over its shores,

In the Gardens of betel nut palms with a fence of Kurukathi plants,

In the paddy fields , like  the soul which wanders  around,

Different bodies   which were all learning the books  with four branches.

2.Nattu Padalam

(The chapter  on the country)

(After describing the river of the country, the author describes the Kosala   country of Dasaratha. Sage Valmiki has also described   the KOsala country)

32.Using  four lined   verses , the great one called Valmiki,

Composed   sweet poems which were  drunk by devas  using their ears,

After drinking the alcohol called love , I am now talking ,

About the country he described like  a dumb one who has started   talking.

33.There  ,  all the fields were full of pearls, the water ways to fields were full of conches,

The paths dividing fields meant   for over flow of water   were   full of pure gold,

The ditches where buffaloes take bath was all full of  red  lotus flowers,

Corals in places water stood , swans occupying  all the paddy fields,

In the uncultivated land near by ,  were flowing with honey,

And in all the pretty gardens   bees  were dancing after  drinking honey.

34. In the limits of that  great cultivable lands was the sound of rivers flowing,

The sound created by farmers  when they were working,

The sound of  juice of sugarcane   flowing  from the work place,

The big  sound  which was coming  out of the big mouth of  conches,

The sound of bull dashing against bull. The sound created by buffalos swimming in the water

Were being  heard one mixing with the other , in different times.

35.With peacocks playing in the garden , With lotus flowers holding the lamps,

With clouds making sound like drums, With kuvalai flowers opening their eyes and seeing,

With water storages shining like curtains, With bees singing like the honey sound Of Yaazh(a stringed instrument),

It appeared  as if the lady  of cultivable  land  was sitting   in a regal  manner.

36. The goddess Mahalakshmi who increases the beauty of the bees lives  in the lotus,

The eyes of ladies and the arrows  of God of love, would strike the lovers  in the cool  evenings,

The corals of the ocean and the shining pearls would live in the big black clouds,

And the truth  and the inner meaning of famous books live  on the Toungues of people of Kosala.

37. The water would sleep in the  conches, the buffaloes sleep  in the shades of trees,

The bees sleep inside flower garland, The goddess Lakshmi sleeps inside  the lotus  flowers,

The Tortoise sleeps in the slushy mud, The shells of pearls would sleep  in stored waters,

The swans  sleep in the harvested paddy  and the peacock sleeps  in the  gardens.

38.The Gold which comes out when ploughing, the pearls produced  by the shells,

The collection of gems which shine in the fields which have  been ploughed,

The new fresh  awns of paddy and the tender  sugarcane and the bees,

And faces of the farm women , like the lotus flower shine with their eyes open.

39.The rustic musicians having small lyre  producing clear music notes,

After  drinking the toddy made  with sweetness along with soft  drum beats,

And the songs which were  being sung here and there, would   wake up,

Those peacock like ladies with jet black eye  sleeping on the cots made of pure gold,

On the  halls which shine  with pure whiteness  of the  high order.

40.

 The sweet juice coming out of sugarcane  in the factories,

 The juice coming out of cutting  the flowers by toddy tappers,

The  sweet juice flowing out   of the fallen fruits   in the orchards,

The honey flowing out of the pierced   wound made by arrows in honeycombs,

The honey that flows   from the flower garlands ,being excess flowed rapidly,

Reached the places where ships  are  there in the sea and fishes drank them and were overjoyed.

41.The farm women spoke words   which are as sweet as poems,

And their  broad long eyes were matching with their hands, legs  as well as mouth,

And since none of their limbs were  similar  to  the pretty  weed flowers like lotus,

Those farmers  from whose  side of the mouth , the  toddy flowed ,

Were walking hither and thither  not able to throw away the weeds,

Because of the great love they had  for  their women folk. Would they be able to live?

42.The  waves of the black sea were full of the scent taken from the hairs of the  women,

Decorated by sandal   and flowers, Who were taking bath  in the  newly flowing    water   of the rivers,

And what can we say about the number of  such women , who were speaking honey like  words by their red mouth,

And who were seeing the men with their sword like  side long eyes, making the men desire for them.

43.Due to the  pretty  men who were wearing ear studs and also wearing the creams mixed with natural camphor,

And also sandal paste  mixed further with saffron . taking bath   by dipping  in the river ,

Making the excess water flow in to the gardens and in the fields   of crops like  paddy,

In those areas  and in places of alluvial soil, the bees would always  be crowding about.

44.The red legged swan wandering in the fields like the ladies  who had fish like eyes,

Had left their tender young ones    on the bed of lotus flowers, and they started drinking milk ,

That was flowing from the udders  of buffaloes with slushy mud sticking on their legs ,

  When  then they  started   making noise  recollecting the young ones and let out milk,

And started sleeping to the lullaby sung by  the green coloured  toads.

45.While the koels  are happy with their mate ,

While the peacocks  that were dancing behind the  tree branches ,

Were  making the stage prettier than  the ladies  with    the spear like eyes,

The swans with packed feather were sleeping on the bed  of very many lotus flowers,

And to wake them up the bees  being drunk were singing   the tunes  which are to be sung at dusk.

46-49 .While those who have  married   ladies   who were  very compatible  with them,

Who were following  them like the shadow  that follows the flying  kite ,

Were  enjoying   the  music  sung which were following its grammar,

Were  enjoying with their ears   the great books which were   sweeter than nectar,

And Were celebrating the festival of food    after  they saw the  face of their  guests,

 Some  others were showing an angry mind and  reddish coloured eyes,

 Seeing  the cock with a knife   tied  on   its feet, showing severe  anger without any previous enmity,

Showing no distaste for entering in to The war , because if   a stain is created in the valorousness  of life,

And  did not bother about their life   and those  make  them fight,

And some others   , who were  surrounded  by bees  which  were  attracted

By the flowers that they wore in their hair,

Were shouting at the top of their voice  the sound of  which went up to the cloud,

When the   red eyed buffalo calves given birth by the she buffaloes ,

Were dashing against each other  making others feel it is  the angry   thunder,

And then were nearing each other  making one feel that the darkness has spread everywhere,

And later dividing themselves in to two groups , then got  angry with each other,

And there  were  also farmers  who were driving  the bullocks shouting at them ,

Making the white tip of  lotus flowers  , opening  on the stem with thorns,  break,

Making the  gold and pearls  in the land  swept to a side ,

With the conch  called Chalamchala making   booming sound,

With fishes caught in the plough spring here   and there,

With tortoises   withdrawing themselves   in to their shells,

And the  big wishes   trying to hide themselves   in the side of the path.

50. Since the country was protected by a king, who knew the rules of ruling,

Who kept his desires under control , Who got angry  when and where  he should,

Who knew the amount of tax that  he was collecting  and who was merciful to his citizens,
That country was  avoiding the burden and were similar  to  the land which was like  god to them,

And  the ships unburdened  themselves  their   golden imports  on  the  beach land.

51. The Farmers  carried  the harvested  straw  of the paddy  cut by the knife ,

Arranged them  in heaps which touched   the sky, marked them for identification,

And after  beating the paddy, they used to heap them  and while  bringing it to depots

Would help the needy  and  would make  some paddy reach their homes so that guests can take them,

And the rest would be laden  fully and carried in carts and these  would make the earth bend due to their load.

52.The farmers  like the honey bee   which takes up honey from various  flowers,

Take up the cultivation of  cereal crops    which grow   in the fields in plains,

Scented flower  crops which grow in water, fruit crops which are harvested from old trees,

Pulse crops which grow in uplands,. Fruits and  flower crop grown  from cuttings,

And various   other Root and tuber crops   which are grown in pits.

53. All over the country the  nectar like food   suitable   to be served  to gods of earth,

 Which consisted    of   three fruits (Jack, banana and mango)  which are considered the best fruits,

Along with various type of Dhals  , with ghee drowning the  food that has been served,

With pieces  of red curd  and  with sugar candy pieces  placed in between    the cooked rice,

Were cooked in every house   and was partaken   along with various   guests and relatives,

               

54.The male bees in those crop lands   seeing  the shining lotus like faces,

Of young girls , which had   pretty  eyes  on which collyrium was applied,

And thinking that they were  female bees    who were their consorts,

With great love waited all   the day long    in  those Crop growing lands.

55.On one side of that crop land  , the ladies of the farm  who were having,

A face    which has won the god of love , along with breasts which make the passion grow,

Which   make  the males  submissive  , Made them stand   erect like  The ribbon fishes,

Which had drunk the toddy   that was oozing out   from the leaf sheaths .

56.The black she buffalos   which are   immersed   in  cold water of the field,

Which looked like some blue clouds of the sky , used to   rain the  milk  ,

From their udder  , when they thought about    their calves m which were,

Left out In  the village  and due to that the red paddy crops look more healthy.

57.The water  that used to wash  the rice    before  it is kept for cooking,

In a  kitchen which does not have   any scarcity   for    any thing,

Over flows and flows   through the garden of very tall betel nut palms ,

And would reach the nursery field of red rice  and make the seedlings healthy.

58. Those   very clear coloured cocks    with plumes on their head,

When they scratched the earth with dirt  using  their legs  ,

See  shining    ruby stones   on that heap of dirt,

And thinking they are glow worms , would keep them in their  nests.

59.The maidens of the caste  of cow herds  would churn the curd,

Which has white foam colour  till the sound of churner  is heard ,

Again and again , With their ornamental conch bangles creates the sound of murmur,

And with their verry narrow waists which  makes  them bent forward,

Till their extremely  pretty hands      start paining.

60.The sweet musical sound  of   the sweet young birds  in the crop fields,

The sound of young bees   which is heard on  the buds   of flowers,

And the sound created by the flock of birds  near the water  bodies,

Are similar to  the auspicious  song of the pestle in the homes of rich charitable people.

61, Those   girls with  black eyes   who  reside near the sea shore,

Who have not learnt   how to attract  the mind of men,

Go  and bring  the shells    of betel nuts   in a small  containers,

And build   small houses in their courtyards, where pearls are scattered.

62.The  water  rich clouds   which are  hindered by huge mountains,

Shines after getting scared   after hearing the huge sound created by

By  dashing of the heads  of   the very huge headed  male sheep,

Which have two huge horns  and are born   the very soft  natured female sheep.

63.Leaving out  the  she elephants and calves , when   the elephants,

Are  tied   using   chains   , in the areas where   they are available for capture,

By those   valorous people   who normally  live in the mountain,

The sound raised by them would scare away male swans which  are happy with their mates.

64.Those who dig for root crops    get very costly gems from there,

While those who harvest hanging mango  fruits would get honey drops,

And those  golden coloured punnai flowers would have dots,

And the swans   which live in lotus tank   would be  sleeping.

65.In the courtyards of cowherds  with flute  made  bamboo   and ixora tree,

 The song of Kuravai of land which   is cultivated   makes  calves sleep,

The songs by the  ladies occupying area near    sea and the  beach,

Flies and  is heard  in gardens which are guarded and lands which  are irrigated.

66.  Due to the dashing of wind in the bamboo bush  , when the bee hive breaks ,

And when the new  honey flows   like snakes hanging   from mountains,

Makes the colocasia stems break   due to its speed,

And   it is being grazed by conches in  canals flowing from tanks with lilies.

67.Those  broad eyed ladies   have  crescent  shaped,

Forehead  and  have great wealth    as well as  great knowledge,

And because of that  they  give feast to all those  who approach them,

And also daily    host a feast    for every one  and what else can one expect?

68. In all the halls    where free  food is  given  with desire , there lie

 Heaps  of  good  and pure vegetable   cut with crescent shaped  knife

Along with   cooked dhal  and along with rice  of the  colour  of white  pearl.

69. To all those citizens of that    Kosala   country,

Ships would  continuously bring    them very great wealth,

The  cultivable lands    continuously  would   lead them  to prosperity

The mines would continuously   give them precious      stones,

And the difficult to get clan heritage would give them good  conduct.

70.Since nothing wrong is committed there , there is no unnatural  death,

Due to the purity of thought of people  , there is no anger  there,

Due to absence of activities which are not good  ,

Except for   progress there is  no deterioration.

71.That which spreads crossing   its  path  there,  is the flood,

That which has  lost its recognition,  is the shoulders  of saffron mark,

That which is    small is the thin , are  waists of ladies there ,

And that which is scented there is the hair of girls  decorated by flowers.

72.The smoke raised by putting incense sticks  in fire, The smoke from kitchen,

The  good smoke   coming from  Sugarcane processing places,

And   the   pretty smoke coming from  Vedic fire sacrifices,

Spread   everywhere      and were looking  like exuberant clouds.

73.The peacocks have borrowed prettiness  from their ladies and walk about,

The sun was shining  like the   ornaments worn by those ladies  over their breasts

The clouds were moving in sky resembling    the hair on the head of those ladies,

And the   pretty   fishes  which are like their eyes  are rolling about in fields.

74.Those ladies whose waists  look as if it is   real  were bathing in the churning water,

The lotus flowers which were like their reddish lips    were    opening ,

And they  were walking  like swans in the lake   along with pretty  locks ,

And the face    of   those ladies of that country opened like lotus flowers.

75.The  spear like eyes of the ladies  were laughing  at the four faced Brahma,

Their gait  was laughing at    the walk of  the she elephants,

Their two  breasts were laughing at the   lotus buds,

And their pretty faces were  making fun of  the moon with his crescents.

76.  The gems that those ladies were wearing   were shining better  than the Sun,

The breasts   of those women   were looking better than tender coconuts,

The cloths that  they were wearing    was thinner than the foam of milk,

And the drums played at their wedding was louder than   the thunder of clouds.

77.  The gardens of that country was comparable to the clouds ,

The  heaps of harvested produce in their fields was  comparable to mountains,

The water   that they have stopped in their dams was looking like the sea,

And that country blessed with wealth was similar to the  land of devas.

78.Wherever mountains of paddy is not there , there would be mountains of pearls,

Wherever  the pearl mountains were not there, there were mountains of sea nectar(salt),

Wherever those salt mountains are not there , there were mountains of Gold brought by the river,

And in several places   there were    huge sand banks   full   of costly gems.

79.  The place   where pretty damsels    learn to play   the ball,

Even though if it is not a sandal forest , due to their body scent would be Champaka forest,

And place where the Muruga(Subrahamanya)  like males learn archery   and other arts,

Though it is a garden with various flowers , will have a jasmine scent.

80.The nightingales   in that country  speak the sugar like  sweet  baby talk  of their ladies,

The peacocks learn their gait  again from them, 

And    the young   female shells of the sea .

Are only giving out pearls   after seeing their teeth.

81. In the homes of those who sell toddy , old toddy is there,

In the homes of those  who cultivate  , the implements for cultivation are there,

In the homes of the young men who get married, the sound of auspicious instruments echoes,

And in the house   very  great musicians(panar) , there are Yaazh with   strings.

82.  The flower garlands there    ooze out  honey  ,

The commercial ships that come bring lot of gems and gold,

The wind     showers   the nectar drops that give life,

And the   stories written by  poets  give songs  sweet to the ears.

83. The  peacocks which have very pretty feathers ,

Seeing the  pleasing shadow    of their peahens follow them,

Similar   to the mind of youth , who after seeing  ,

Their girls   with flower ornamented    hair,

And With pearl necklaces hanging over their breasts,

84.Since poverty is not there, there is no charity there,

Since there are none to fight face to face  ,Strength cannot be exhibited,

Since no body tells a lie ,  there is no definition of truth,

And since wealth of questions are asked , there  is no ignorance.

85.Since carts bringing huge stocks of gingelly, millets , ragi  and maize

And the   carts bringing lot of salt from the slushy   salt farms

Are  not able  to be driven properly   due to heaviness of  their  load,

They are being pushed by men who  meet  and mingle with each other.

86.Like those souls who cannot get salvation due to  lack of divine wisdom,

Are born several times    to   completely wipe away  Karmas done   earlier,

Sugar, honey  , sugary juices  , the curd of  lands of cowherds and toddy.

87.In those streets   where  the vocal music   and the music from flute,

Is  sung separately  , like a river   meeting yet another river,

The crowds coming for  festivals and marriages  meet with each other.

88.The sound of conches  which are played by keeping them in the nose,

The sound of drums which give sound when beaten by sticks,

And the sound of big drums that are hung on the shoulder by belts,

Would all fade away in the sound of chastising of bulls by farmers.

89. The  pretty hands   of ladies who feed milk and rice,

To those children   wearing  the locket of Lord Vishnu ,

And  who   rain  watery  nectar  like fluid  from their mouth   on their chests,

 Look like the folded lotus flowers when the moon rises.

90. The outer   beauty  was permanent due to their inner  beauty,

Due to their  being without   a lie , their justice lives permanently,

Due to  love of their women  , all the dharmas  were permanent,

And due to the virtuous life of their women , the seasonal  rain was permanent.

91.Who is capable of going round its garden filled lands,

And come back safely   after seeing its boundaries?

For   even   the river Sarayu with  plenty of flowing water,

Which runs through several canals  has not seen its boundaries.

92We have till now  told about the greatness  ,

Of the faultless city of Kosala, which cannot  be destroyed.

Even if   the entire sea lead by huge wind enters in to it.,

And now we would describe about its capital city Ayodhya.

                                           3.Nagara  Padalam

                                          (Chapter about the city.)

(After describing the country, the poet describes the city , with its huge boundary walls  , their great moats  , the mansions in them  as well its decorations.)

93.  Ayodhya is   described Using   sweet appropriate words ,

And  the  best among    the good and sweet  words,

By all those    great poets of yore ,

As well as those sages    who have written the northern book,

Where the people living all over   the world without boundaries,

Desire to do penance  and also those people who live in ether worlds,

Consider   very suitable to be born again   and is a very great city.

94.Is the city  of Ayodhya , the face of the earth or the thilaka on its face,

Is it the very long auspicious thread of the marriage?

Is it the gem studded necklace worn over the breasts?

Is it  the place to live? , is  it the lotus in which Lakshmi lives?

Is it the golden box   studded with gems worn by Lord Vishnu?

Is it the city above the city of devas? How can we tell which?

95.Because Lord Shiva who occupies the other part of body of Parvathi,

Lord Vishnu who is the husband  to  both Goddess Lakshmi and earth,

And Lord Brahma who lives on the lotus flower thinking it as great wealth,

Have  described  it as the city  which cannot be matched with  any other,

The sun and moon, pushed by very great desire to   wander there  without blinking on the sky,

And can we find any other reason for them to wander   above it?

96.The city of  the king of devas who has the sharp Vajrayudha,

The  city Alakapuri of Khubera  were possibly created  for practice by Brahma,

For the sake of creating   this great  divine   and special city,

And Maya as well as the architects of devas   stood ashamed,

 For their inability  to create such a city and forgot their jobs,

And so how can we describe the greatness   of this city,

Which has huge tall buildings which even touch the sky?

97.The   opinion of    the great Vedas is that,

Those who do blessed deeds   would reach heavens after death,

And who else is there  in this world    except  Raghava,

Who nurtured dharma with penance   in this world?

And if that one of very rare  and   great qualities  ,

Ruled over all the seven worlds sitting here,

Can we point out   any other place   where,

There   is much more happiness than this city?

98.If  Lord Vishnu  , who is the  place of protection  of all,

Those great ones   who had mercy  and Dharma   with them,

Who were controlling all the sense organs which were their enemies,

And who were  blessed with divine knowledge and great penance,

Considered tht this is suitable place  for his   incarnation,

And ruled   this city for immesurable number of   years   along with Goddess Lakshmi ,

WE have to doubt whether    there is any other  city,

In this universe    which is equivalent  to this city.

99.All the kings are there, the best among ornaments are there,

All the gems which can never be got are all there ,

All  the elephants in rut with rope tied to their neck are all there,

All the things in this world are there  ,

And if all sages  , devas and asuras have all assembled there  ,

And if all of them praise   the greatness of that city,

Is there a comparison to it . It is definitely difficult to find.

100. There are  no mountains from the snow capped mountains  ,

Which are like  the city’s   tall boundary walls  ,

Which have been erected in a square as per rules of architecture here.

And so there is  no comparison to its boundary walls  ,

And if we want to talk about those   great boundary walls  ,

WE can say it is as high as the true divine knowledge  ,

Which can be got after mastering     great books of wisdom  ,

And after that   bring them  to practice   and get it  in the micro form.

101.These  boundary walls  are similar to Vedas as their end cannot be seen,

They are like devas    because they  also have reached   the world of devas,

They are like  sages because  they control   outside attachments,

They are like  like Goddess Durga who rides on deer   as they both guard the city,

They   are like Goddess Kali , because both hold spears for war,(spears are attached to walls)

And are like God because both of them are difficult to reach.

102.Those   walls seem to have    risen up  to see the world of devas,

And to find out whether    that  city   has pretty damsels  like  the city of Ayodhya,

Which   is full of pretty ladies   having  shining nails    fed with red colour,

By the juice of red cotton  . having lotus like  red  feet,

Having  thin waists like a climber plant, With breasts like  small unripe coconuts,

Having bent bamboo like shoulders   which are soft    and stout,

And  having the ability   of very pretty attractive speech.

103.Those boundary walls    were like  the leaders  of the clan of Sun,

Because it  protects (Measures)  the world by its scepter(scale),

Because  they chop off the heads     of those kings  who attack the city(Walls  can throw swords)

Because of their just(level) manner as dictated  by the books of Manu,

Because of  their ability to protect the city without anybody noticing it,

Because both of them posses weapons   like the spear,

Because of their great strength , making impossible for others to defeat,

Because of their greatness  and because of the way that they use the wheel.

104.Armed with  machines   which can throw weapons  like the very angry spear  ,

The sword  which  kills enemies , bow , axe , staff   , wheel  ,

THomara   and the pestle  and with  the  sling stone .

Which scares   even the great thunder of clouds ,

Each of them being   innumerable  , these walls  would be,

Able   to kill  the crowds  of mosquitoes,

Or  even Garuda , the king of birds   , or even,

Fast travelling  wind   and even the mind ,

Which thinks about things that are  harmful,

And if it is so what else needs  to be told about security of the wall

105 . The  kings born in the clan of Sun  who   protect the people,

Who follow virtuous character    thinking that  fame is better than ornaments,

 Who  shines   in  that the darkness from all the eight   directions,

And whose   order is implemented  by their scepter and wheel ,

And are  capable   of even protecting   the worlds of devas ,

But what is decorating the city   are only those   walls.

106.We are now going to talk   of the moat  which surrounds,

The boundary walls  like the sea surrounding the round  mountain,

Which goes   very much  down like the  minds  of Prostitutes,

Which   is not very clear   like verses  which are not  good,

And which cannot be approached by any one like private parts  of  a lady,

 And has crocodiles like the five senses which prevent people from approaching good things.

107.The clouds   which runs along    with other cloud groups,

Seeing the borderless moat   which is as deep as the world of serpents,

Thinking  that   it is   the sea which will scare it , takes away water from there,

And  thinking that the wall  by its side is a mountain , rains on it.

108. The forest of  scented lotus flowers , which grows   inside the moat,

Which is by the side of that great wall  being defeated in beauty  by ,

The shining faces of ladies in private apartments of the king ,

Again  regains its strength   and looks  as if it   surrounds   that great wall .

109.  The crocodiles   which live and rise   from,

That moat which was built around the city , which had been built,

Carefully along with  various type of deterrents  and built   by ,

Breaking all  the stones all around   , looked like elephants in rut.

Which could not escape   from the sea   and are sinking in it.

110.Those crocodiles    waving their saw  like tails and shining teeth,

Open their mouths   and along with   shining fire like eyes,

And   are trying to   fight and drive each other in that moat,

And are like the giants in the battle field who are fighting with each other.

111. That moat    was resembling the   great army of the kings,

With the wandering swans resembling white umbrellas,

 With the wandering and encircling crocodiles looking like elephants,

With the waving lotus flowers along with the leaves resembling the horses,

 And the fishes that are in it looking like swords and spears.

112. With  the moat being built  with edges   that look like silver ,

And  the inside of the moat looking as if it was built by crystal  sheets,

Even devas would not be able to identify   the  crystal like bank of the moat,

From the crystal paved   water  in the moat .

113.That long  and deep moat   which was   all around.,

The walls which looked like Chakravaka mountains ,

Is   the forest   which   looked like a ribbon of darkness ,

Or if  we think it as garden  , it looks  like a blue ribbon dress.

114 The four gates of that city  stood  firmly like  the elephants  ,

That  are guarding all the directions    of the earth  and were tall ,

Like  Trivikrama  , the form to which he grew up   from the short Vamana form,

And because they were  making all  the prosperous citizens,

Of the city walk in the right path, they resembled the four Vedas.

115.When the male dove   called   with love  and,

Was attracted by the female dove picture  above the gate,

And   was not coming near  it, the lady dove  got upset,

And went away and hid itself in the Karpaga garden of the world of devas.

116-118. The seven storied tower  over these   entrances ,

Which   were raised  by arranging stones   over each other .

Pasted with cut crystal sheets    in the front  , over which,

Gold was in laid   and over which   several gems were inlaid  ,

Over which the partitions  made of silver were constructed,

Over  the shining stories constructed   with emerald stones,

  Over which faultless pillars    of diamond   were arranged,

Over which gold was inlaid  , over which  the long row,

Of  shining  lions were constructed   and over which,

A hand width of cats eye   gems were arranged,

And  similar Seven stories     which looked  like seven branches were thus built,

AS per the architectural rule   of erecting towers  ,

And  over the tower  a  roof of red copper   were spread on the top of those  ,

Over  which   at the peak  a  gem studded  pot was kept,

And this    tower looked like the crown placed on the head of Goddess earth.

119. The white  houses  which  were  painted   with   white lime  ,

Got from burning   the conches and  looking at its whitness,

It made one exclaim,  “Even the moon is blacker  than this,”

And looked like the foam of the   ocean of milk,

Which went up as  a result   of a huge stormy wind.

120.Those houses   where  the doves with spots on the body lived,

Had a roof made    of  several sheets of gold   and looked like,

The faultless sun shining on a silver mountain,

 With its early rays   spreading   on that mountain.

121.There were crores of such homes in that city  ,

Which were built on pillars made of diamond.

Over which beams   made of emerald were    erected,

And  looked like paintings     have come out alive.

122. There were also innumerable  villas   with,

Floors paved    with moon stone  all over,

And had rows of pillars made    out of sandalwood,

Over which beams made   of red rubies were kept,

And  with all its walls    paved    with blue topaz stones.

123.  There were  also innumerable homes ,

With artistic pillars having lotus shaped base ,

In between areas  looking like serpents ,

Which would be looked at with desire by all people  ,

With its very soft golden polished looks.

124.The eyelids  of those who see it  would remain opened,

And never   get closed  and since the sparkling light falls upon them,

They would all   shine like devas    and those ,

Houses were always   having   that sparkle  live the air chariots of devas.

125. The ladies    wearing pretty ornaments   as well as,

The men who wear garlands over their chest ,

Would always follow boldly the path of Dharma there,

And those homes built by   gems as well as gold,

Would never   be less  in deeds of Dharma ,

And by their luster   would even win over the sun.

126 . Those mansions in the city    touch the sky  ,

Are very rich, have   their fame spread   everywhere,

And are   surrounded   by great light   and  are ,

Bear  evidence  of  innumerable very fair  citizens,

Who  live like their stainless king who follows  Dharma.

127. Those mansions   bow like a stream  and have,

Pearl necklaces that    move here and there,

It has several flags   and heaps of big gems  ,

Have  ornaments made of  pure Gold ,

And also have   very  pretty peacocks,

128.Those  mansions where  the smoke  of incense mixed everywhere,

Had  huge flags which cannot be differentiated   from clouds,

Along with spears tied at     the tip of   tall  flag staffs ,

They  were like   the  rows of flashes of lightning.

129. In those mansions   where the peacock like ladies,

With very thin waists and stout breasts , wearing anklets on both legs,

Walk and create jingling sound, the pearl garlands,

Hung in those flags looked like Garlands flowered in wish giving trees.

130.   Like the banana gardens which are seen in huge mountains,

In the flag post long     flags are relatively more  , and the reason,

For the moon to loose his crescents daily  and its shine,

Is because of the rubbing of these  long flags.

131. Those  halls which are not made of gold are  those,made of flowers,

Those halls where   large number  of people,

Do not assemble  are   buildings with more than one stair,

And those which are not constructed hills are  courtyards of gems,

And those    which are not courtyards   are Pandals made of gems.

132. That    city  built by gold  which  can never be destroyed,

 When exposed to lights like lightning  or lamps or the rays of sun,

Was reflected  up   and city of devas   looked   golden.

133.The round shaped sun rises in the sky,

When it  is rising has   very weak light ,

At noon it increases and at evening  .

It again decreases and  that golden wall  ,

Built by properly stacking gems which reflect fire ,

Makes the sun shine  due to luster  shines ,

Like the shadow of ladies of Ayodhya.

134. When the ladies wearing a well made   golden waist belt ,

Raised smoke  in the mansions to scent and dry their hairs,

That black smoke of incense  went and attached themselves to the clouds,

And if that smoke also makes the ocean scented,

Is there need  to tell about    the quality of rain water?

135.The lisps  of girl children whose hair  has not been  tied,

Would resemble the music of the flute , the   talk of  young girls,

Would be similar to the music of  Makara yaazh(a stringed instrument),

And sweet music sung   by the pretty damsels   would be like the song  of dancers,

In the street   where  the  old ones   sell toddy.

136.While  the male  elephants which  show anger   in their eyes,

Are   cutting the ground   with waving of their feet and making holes,

 The attractive good to look  at youth  who go to play  ,

In those grounds   , fill them up by the scented powder  that they wear.

137.When the  young ladies  play ball in the fields  , the pearls,

They wear keep on falling   , and when their  lady servants,

Collect  those limitless  pearls and heap  them on the field,

And these  heaps of pearls  give out light which make the moon ashamed.

138.When   the pretty ladies   dance  on the stage  , the spear,

Of the look of their side long eyes , melt the hearts of their lovers,

And due to this soul of those boys  become as thin as   the waist  of those ladies,

And the love of those boys towards the girls   keeps on increasing

139.When   in some gardens   the honey  is raining,

The breeze and bees  enter the garden to eat them with desire,

And when they enter creating pain to lovers, the breasts of ladies,

Who are boiling with love to their lover  becomes smaller.

140. When  the sweet music brought out    from Makara Yazh with strumming,

Which  makes the mind happier decreases in tone  ,

The drums tied with belts   increase  in their tone  ,

And the  parrots which talk with the girls  close their  eyes and sleep.

141.The  strong shoulders of men who are kicked   with love tiff,

By the  feet of the girls  with a forehead    similar to   the strung  ready bow,

And with lips similar to the red fruit   and,

Who are engaged  in painting the nails of their feet,

Which are  like   the  red soft lotuses with dense petals, appear red.

142.It is possible   that the paintings  of that  town   are not  closing their eyes,

So that  they desire to keep on seeing  the  shining body without  any defects,

Of the ladies who are fit to be    saluted by every one  ,

Whose shine  makes   it difficult   to find time in that unmatched  city.

143. The  darkness of the  mansions  of the city    in which lives

 The Goddess  Lakshmi  who  lives  in the cool lotus flowers,

Is  shining   with  light   not   because of good lamps lit with ghee or  the gem lamps ,

But   due to the shine and luster  of the bodies of ladies there.

144.The great dancers of the city    used to   dance as per rules of dance,

Accompanied   by drums sound of beats  , and sound of songs ,

And their anklets   used to describe  the dance of their feet,

And    the horse  of the city   used to dance  very much like them.

145. A smile  appears on their face and that smile,
leads to great sorrow  to the one who loves her,

AS their waist keeps on   reducing in size  ,

And their breasts wearing  pearl and hold necklaces,

Increase   in size and make their waist  more miserable.

146. Those which   do not loose  joy from time to time,

Are those young swans which have a very pretty gait,

The   big Kayal fishes in ponds  where lotus has flowered,

The male    bee which lives   with its own female bees,

And t he elephant in rut  eating “birasam?” and also,

The   eyes of  very pretty ladies.

147.The lions with fire like eyes and their lionesses,

Would like to live in mountain caves and  the ,

The water of rut   would rain like water,

And  that would make the mud slushy   and,

In that chariots with flags would sink .

148. The discarded   flower garlands   by ladies.

Would tie the legs  of the horses  dancing there,

And  the discarded sandal paste   from  their breasts,

By the ladies    after tiff and making  love  to their lovers,

Would  make  those who  run there slide and fall.

149.When the horses run in the streets, the dust raised by their hoofs raises,

And  the gems   of those   heroes who ride on the horses  get hidden,

And they would  be cleaned   by the honey dripping from the garlands that  they wear.

150. The juice of rut of the elephants have the scent  of Vengai flowers,

The mouth of girls born in noble families   have   a scent of lotus,

The unmatched light emanating from their ornaments are shining everywhere.

And   the  flower that ladies decorate their hair  give out  pleasant smell.

151.What is the need   to compare    the    city  of devas,

Which is not counted in line with best cities, with this city?

Apart from it being different in giving  all types of   wealth,

After seeing the market place of this city, the wealthy Alakapuri lost to it

152.The armlets made great sound, their weapons are shining,

Their gem studded ornaments shine out  , the scent of musk spreads everywhere,

The gems  shine out  , the honey bee swarms   are singing,

And like this the   crowd of gents was shining.

153.The sound of  conches   and horns  , the sound  of Makara  Veena,

The sound of drums  , the sound of Kinnara, the sound of hole  instruments like flute,

And the sound of various musical instruments working in different ways,

Were being heard together , making the sound of sea feeble.

154.The city was full of  pavilions  where  the tribute  of several kings was being counted,

Pavilions where   the ladies with swan like gait   dance  ,

Pavilions  where   the Vedas which is beyond thought   are chanted by great people  ,

And Pavilions   where learned people  debate   about arts  which are scarce.

155,The ornamental hangings of the village  are greater than rays of Sun,

The directions all round  the city were smaller than    the wide streets,

The water of rut from elephants   bigger than stream on mountain,

And  The horse stables were bigger than the ocean.

156.The top  of the mansions in the city vie with the clouds,

The decorative hangings of the city  are shining because of pretty faces  of ladies there,

And the   eyes which are like arrows would  dip in the hearts of men.

157.The  sound produced by the heroic armlets of the king,

Are echoing as   the sound of golden chariots   as also,

The sound of the cavalry   and the swans in the lotus pond,

Where   the  sound of anklets of pretty damsels  is heard are jealous of that.

158.In that city  people  spend   their time in lover’s tiff,

And then making love  , become happy by singing  ,

The songs that are    greater than the soul,

Make expert lady  musicians sing and enjoy   it,

Dance as per the music   and decorate themselves with pretty flowers.

159.Riding  on  trumpeting  elephants of great vigour  due to their great strength ,

And by riding  on chariots drawn by very powerful horses,

Some people of that city spent their time  by giving sufficient  wealth and gold,

So  that sorrow   of poor people who are forced to beg is destroyed.

160.Others in that great city spent their time  by making  ,

Elephants  fight with other elephants ,

Or by learning   to use the powerful bows that  they are having with them,

Or  Riding   on horses   which have long  manes.

Or  by playing  the matchless ball or by learning  the art of war.

161. Some others in that shining city spent their time  by plucking flowers in the garden,

Or  walking like a female deer along with their young friends and taking bath in the pond,

Or by keep on drinking honey so that red pearl colour of their mouth is altered,

Or by   playing all the   games involving dice or by gambling.

162.The flags  that are flying on the  mansions without any wants,

Fly in different ways on the sky   and  going upward  ,

Reach the Akasa Ganga   and make that river dry,

Like  The white clouds drink away the water of  fish  scented ocean.

163.The big entrances of that city blessed with decorative hangings,

AS well as the golden ramparts of the inner   and outer city making a threesome,

All rise up to the sky   but finding no place further  to grow,

Similar   to the mountain like shoulders  of the male of the city ,

And their   good character and friendly heart    which are rising up,

Existed   so that even mountains were ashamed on seeing them.

164.In the forests  . backyards   and the edges of  ocean like moat  of that city,

In the ponds   where ladies play  , in the mountains where streams are flowing,

In the houses on the top   and in the pearl  strewn   on the Pandals,

In the   garden where   several bees    keep on making sound  ,

There would be beds made   out of flower and tender leaves.

165.  In that city  where the clouds that give out clear water    and oceans with waves  are scared,

Daily the drums tied   with leather   would keep on making sound

Even among the animals   there is no one to guard as there is no theft,

And because there is no one who begs , there  is none    who gives.

166.Due to the fact there are no one there who have not studied,

There is no one there   who can be considered as  top in one aspect,

There are no greats in any aspect  and there are none there who do not know anything,

Since all the people in the city  have learned  and posses everything,

In that city there are none who do not have   anything   and also having everything.

167. That city    was like the fruit tree  , which  had sprouted from “Education”,

Which has risen up and has  large number of branches which are,

The knowledge gleaned from various books    and is the first and the strong,

With great penance as leaves, with buds which is the love towards all beings,

Which flower as  acts of Dharma which gives rise “sweet experience”   as fruit,

4.Arasiyar Padalam

(The chapter on governance)

168. The king of that great city is the king of kings,

And using his honourable scepter, which was matchless,

He  ruled the city so that he could go to the seven worlds,

He  is the  great personification of Dharma who fathered,

The very strong and famous   hero   Rama of this great story,

Who wore the  heroic armlet     and shined.

169.The great  characters like  being first, brainy , follower of Dharma ,

Peace loving nature, heroism which   was fault and matchless,

Charity  and justice , were complete   within him,

But only half as much required    in all other kings.

170.In this ancient world , which  is encircled   by the ocean,

There was no hand which were not made wet  ,

By the water   which he took in his hand while giving charity  ,

And all  the yagas  which Were left as difficult to be performed

By   the  kings  who were following  true Vedic tenets ,

Were all done by this king and forgotten.

171.That king was  similar to the mother in loving others,

Was similar to penance in doing good to others,

Was like their children because he stood  with them,

At their time of death   and  helped them go to heaven,

Was like medicine as   he was trying to cure sickness of people,

And  he was like wisdom, when one   tries analyze matters.

172. That king crossed  those who begged with him, by the boat  of “giving”,

He crossed the ocean of wisdom , by using the boat of “research of great books”,

He crossed the ocean of enemies  using the boat of anger and sword,

And he crossed the ocean of riches that followed him  by contentment.

173.That king of kings  who carried the spear in the leather  case ,

Who had a fame that never diminishes and was called,

“The philanthropic Dasaratha”   ruled in such a way  ,

That , birds , animals and the mind  of prostitutes  ,

Went  in a straight path  without crossing its boundary ,

And was staying    stable of  his great  fame.

174.  The entire world  with the mountain of horizon as its boundary walls,

The very broad ocean surrounding it as its moat,

With all the mountains becoming gem studded great mansions,

 Was like Ayodhya  the capital city of that great  king.

175. Due to his participating in wars  , in which he was  match  ,

To the strength   of any one who opposed  him in war,

And who carried  his pet weapons   of sword and spear  ,

Which had  lost their sharpness because  they were used ,

Again and again    and by the touch of the  feet  of the king,

On the row  of the crowns of those  kings   who bowed before him.

176.The moon like   white Umbrella of Dasaratha  is sufficient,

For growing day by day   without diminishing,

And give cool   shade   to all the beings on earth,

And also make the world   with no darkness at all ,

And so they say   this  Kosala tree  does not need  a moon,

Which is in the sky and which diminishes and increases.  

177.Since that king Dasaratha  who has lion like strength  ,

And who was wearing diamond studded  ornaments,

Was protecting the soul of  all others , just like his soul,

In this faultless world , became   the body  in which,

All the souls of all the world preferred to live.

178.That Dasaratha   who had very big shoulders like the mountain,

Appearing   like the hot sun  in the   very tall sky  and the great God,

Wandered all around the moving and not moving beings ,

And carried out   the job of protecting them all  with his victorious wheel of rule.

176.Since that king had no enemies who were interested in attacking him,

And  his big shoulders looking like drums  were irritating and longing for a war

And he was looking after the  souls of all the world ,

Like a poor man who sincerely   looks  after his fields and ruling with sweetness.