पाठ्ये गेये च मधुरं प्रमाणैस्त्रिभिरन्वितम्। जातिभिस्सप्तभिर्बद्धं तन्त्रीलयसमन्वितम्।।1.4.8।। रसैश्शृङ्गारकारुण्यहास्यवीरभयानकै:। रौद्रादिभिश्च संयुक्तं काव्यमेतदगायताम्।।1.4.9।। तौ तु गान्धर्वतत्त्वज्ञौ मूर्छनास्थानकोविदौ। भ्रातरौ स्वरसम्पन्नौ गन्धर्वाविव रूपिणौ।।1.4.10।। रूपलक्षणसम्पन्नौ मधुरस्वरभाषिणौ। बिम्बादिवोद्धृतौ बिम्बौ रामदेहात्तथाऽपरौ।।1.4.11।।
Meaning
Sweet to recite and to sing, set to three tempos and seven musical notes and tuned to stringed instruments, filled with the moods of romance, compassion, humor, heroism and terror among others — this was the poem the two brothers sang. Skilled in music and pitch, sweet-voiced and beautiful as gandharvas, Kusa and Lava looked like two living reflections cast from Rama's own form.
Word-by-word (pada-artha)
Shloka 1.4.8
| Word | Devanagari | Meaning | Grammatical role |
|---|---|---|---|
| pāṭhye geye madhuram | पाठ्ये गेये मधुरम् | to read, to sing, melodious | Accusative singular |
| pramāṇai: tri bhi: anvitam | प्रमाणैः त्रि भिः अन्वितम् | scales, in three, kinds, adaptable | Accusative singular |
| jātibhi: saptabhi: baddham | जातिभिः सप्तभिः बद्धम् | classification, sevenfold, orchestral | Accusative singular |
| tantrī laya samanvitam | तन्त्री लय समन्वितम् | string-instrument, rhythm, included | Accusative singular |
Shloka 1.4.9
| Word | Devanagari | Meaning | Grammatical role |
|---|---|---|---|
| rasai: sṛngara karuṇa hāsya raudra bhayānakai: | रसैः सृन्गर करुण हास्य रौद्र भयानकैः | aesthetics, romance, pathos, comic, fury, fright, and others | Nominative singular (masc.) |
| vīra ādib: rasai: yuktam | वीर आदिब्ः रसैः युक्तम् | valour et cetera, aesthetics, embodying | Accusative singular |
| kāvyam a gāyatām | काव्यम् अ गायताम् | epic, is sung | Accusative singular |
Shloka 1.4.10
| Word | Devanagari | Meaning | Grammatical role |
|---|---|---|---|
| tau tu gāndharva tatvaGYau | तौ तु गान्धर्व तत्वग्यौ | they are, musical art, conversant with | Best-effort: role not confidently classified |
| sthāna mūrcana kovidau | स्थान मूर्चन कोविदौ | pause, pitch of voice, proficient in | Best-effort: role not confidently classified |
| bhrātarau svara sampannou | भ्रातरौ स्वर सम्पन्नोउ | two brothers, voice, wealthy | Best-effort: role not confidently classified |
| gandharva iva rūpiṇau | गन्धर्व इव रूपिणौ | celestial singers, like, in appearance | Best-effort: role not confidently classified |
Shloka 1.4.11
| Word | Devanagari | Meaning | Grammatical role |
|---|---|---|---|
| rūpa lakśaṇa sampannau | रूप लक्शण सम्पन्नौ | in appearance, charm, privileged with | Best-effort: role not confidently classified |
| madhura svara bhaśaṇau | मधुर स्वर भशणौ | melodiously, voiced, in voicing | Best-effort: role not confidently classified |
| bimbāt iva uthītau bimbau | बिम्बात् इव उथीतौ बिम्बौ | [from original] reflection, like, issued forth, reflections | Best-effort: role not confidently classified |
| rāma dehāt | राम देहात् | from Rama's, body | Ablative singular |
| tatha aparau | तथ अपरौ | like that, separately | Best-effort: role not confidently classified |
Scholar commentary
Shloka 1.4.8
valmikiramayan.net Prose Commentary
Desiraju Hanumanta Rao's prose rendering with embedded explanatory notes
(Part of the aesthetics/rasa passage, shlokas 8-11 -- see the fuller note at shloka 11.)
1 of 16 traditions have commentary on this shloka. Traditions without a verse-specific commentary here are omitted rather than filled in.
Shloka 1.4.9
valmikiramayan.net Prose Commentary
Desiraju Hanumanta Rao's prose rendering with embedded explanatory notes
(Part of the aesthetics/rasa passage, shlokas 8-11 -- see the fuller note at shloka 11.)
1 of 16 traditions have commentary on this shloka. Traditions without a verse-specific commentary here are omitted rather than filled in.
Shloka 1.4.10
valmikiramayan.net Prose Commentary
Desiraju Hanumanta Rao's prose rendering with embedded explanatory notes
(Part of the aesthetics/rasa passage, shlokas 8-11 -- see the fuller note at shloka 11.)
1 of 16 traditions have commentary on this shloka. Traditions without a verse-specific commentary here are omitted rather than filled in.
Shloka 1.4.11
valmikiramayan.net Prose Commentary
Desiraju Hanumanta Rao's prose rendering with embedded explanatory notes
The source maps the epic's events directly onto the classical Indian nine-rasa scheme: Rama and Sita's time together (before and after her abduction) as the two forms of romantic sentiment (sambhoga and vipralamba shringara); the episodes of Surpanakha and Trijata as comic; Dasharatha's and Jatayu's deaths as grief; the many battle scenes as fury; Lakshmana's and Indrajit's conduct as valor; the sight of demons as fear or disgust depending on the case; and Hanuman's leap across the ocean, the burning of Lanka, and the Rama-Ravana war as instances of wonder. The source treats this less as literary decoration and more as an explanation for why Kusha and Lava's performance moved its audience to tears -- the epic was composed, in this reading, to systematically move through the full emotional register.
1 of 16 traditions have commentary on this shloka. Traditions without a verse-specific commentary here are omitted rather than filled in.
Reference: 1.4.8-11 · Bāla Kāṇḍa