Shloka 2.43Unverified draft

तदुपगतसमाससन्धियोगं सममधुरोपनतार्थवाक्यबद्धम् । रघुवरचरितं मुनिप्रणीतं दशशिरसश्च वधं निशामयध्वम् ।।1.2.43।।

Meaning

Listen now to this history of the best of Raghu's line and the slaying of the ten-headed one, composed by the sage in lucid, melodious, meaning-laden verse.

Word-by-word (pada-artha)

WordDevanagariMeaningGrammatical role
tatतत्thatDemonstrative — accusative neuter
upagatasamāsasandhiyogamउपगतसमाससन्धियोगम्furnished with fitting compounds and euphonic juncturesAdjective qualifying caritam
samamadhuropanatārthavākyabaddhamसममधुरोपनतार्थवाक्यबद्धम्composed in even, sweet sentences whose sense comes readilyAdjective qualifying caritam
raghuvaracaritamरघुवरचरितम्the history of the best of the RaghusObject — accusative singular
munipraṇītamमुनिप्रणीतम्set forth by the sageAdjective qualifying caritam
daśaśirasaḥदशशिरसःof the ten-headed one (Ravana)Genitive singular
caचandConnective particle
vadhamवधम्the slayingObject — accusative singular
niśāmayadhvamनिशामयध्वम्listen! give ear!Imperative 2nd plural

Scholar commentary

valmikiramayan.net Prose Commentary

Desiraju Hanumanta Rao's prose rendering with embedded explanatory notes

The sarga's closing line is framed as a direct invitation to the audience to listen -- 'this may now be listened to' -- which the source reads as balladeer's convention: the epic is explicitly something composed by a sage (muni-praNiitam) rather than an ordinary poet, and the tradition holds that a non-sage cannot properly compose an epic, which is precisely why it merits close attention.

1 of 16 traditions have commentary on this shloka. Traditions without a verse-specific commentary here are omitted rather than filled in.

Reference: 1.2.43 · Bāla Kāṇḍa