तत: प्रीतेषु नृपतिर्द्विजेषु द्विजवत्सल:। प्रणाममकरोत्तेषां हर्षपर्याकुलेक्षण:।।1.14.53।।
Meaning
When the brahmins, fond as he was of them, were fully satisfied, the king bowed low before them, his eyes brimming with delight.
Word-by-word (pada-artha)
| Word | Devanagari | Meaning | Grammatical role |
|---|---|---|---|
| tataḥ prīteṣu nṣpatiḥ | ततः प्रीतेषु न्ष्पतिः | then, to those pleased ones, the king | Locative plural |
| dvijeṣu dvija-vatsalaḥ | द्विजेषु द्विज-वत्सलः | to the Brahmins, [he] fond of Brahmins | Locative plural |
| praṇāmam akarot teṣām | प्रणामम् अकरोत् तेषाम् | made obeisance to them | Verb (imperfect) |
| harṣa-paryākula-īkṣaṇaḥ | हर्ष-पर्याकुल-ईक्षणः | his eyes overwhelmed with joy | Nominative singular |
Scholar commentary
valmikiramayan.net Prose Commentary
Desiraju Hanumanta Rao's prose rendering with embedded explanatory notes
The source's closing endnote situates this ritual within a much larger taxonomy: Vedic yajnas of this abhyudayaka (society-benefiting) class include the ashvamedha alongside rajasuuya, pauNDariika, and bR^ihaspati sava, all requiring patronage on a scale only kings and emperors could sustain -- which is why the text calls this ritual genuinely 'beyond the reach of most monarchs' rather than as a stock phrase. The source adds that full-scale agnichayana-type Vedic rituals described in the epics are not performed at this scale in the modern era, though scholar Frits Staal organized documented revivals in 1975 and 1990 with Nambudiri priests in South India, describing the specialized knowledge required to correctly build the fire altar as comparable to the technical knowledge needed to build an aircraft.
1 of 16 traditions have commentary on this shloka. Traditions without a verse-specific commentary here are omitted rather than filled in.
Reference: 1.14.55 · Bāla Kāṇḍa