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)
| Word | Devanagari | Meaning | Grammatical role |
|---|---|---|---|
| tat | तत् | that | Demonstrative — accusative neuter |
| upagatasamāsasandhiyogam | उपगतसमाससन्धियोगम् | furnished with fitting compounds and euphonic junctures | Adjective qualifying caritam |
| samamadhuropanatārthavākyabaddham | सममधुरोपनतार्थवाक्यबद्धम् | composed in even, sweet sentences whose sense comes readily | Adjective qualifying caritam |
| raghuvaracaritam | रघुवरचरितम् | the history of the best of the Raghus | Object — accusative singular |
| munipraṇītam | मुनिप्रणीतम् | set forth by the sage | Adjective qualifying caritam |
| daśaśirasaḥ | दशशिरसः | of the ten-headed one (Ravana) | Genitive singular |
| ca | च | and | Connective particle |
| vadham | वधम् | the slaying | Object — accusative singular |
| niśāmayadhvam | निशामयध्वम् | listen! 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