देवरात इति ख्यातो निमे: ज्येष्ठो महीपति:। न्यासोऽयं तस्य भगवन् हस्ते दत्तो महात्मना
Meaning
This divine instrument belonged to Lord Siva and was received by our ancestors in the olden days. In accordance with tradition, we have carefully preserved it.
Word-by-word (pada-artha)
| Word | Devanagari | Meaning | Grammatical role |
|---|---|---|---|
| devarātaḥ | देवरातः | Devarata | nominative |
| iti | इति | thus | particle |
| khyātaḥ | ख्यातः | known, renowned | nominative adjective |
| nimeḥ | निमेः | from Nimi | ablative/genitive |
| jyeṣṭhaḥ | ज्येष्ठः | the eldest | nominative adjective |
| mahīpatiḥ | महीपतिः | lord of the earth, king | nominative |
| nyāsaḥ | न्यासः | a trust, deposit | nominative |
| ayam | अयम् | this | nominative |
| tasya | तस्य | his | genitive |
| bhagavan | भगवन् | O venerable one | vocative |
| haste | हस्ते | in the hand | locative |
| dattaḥ | दत्तः | given | nominative adjective |
| mahātmanā | महात्मना | by the great-souled one (Shiva) | instrumental |
Scholar commentary
valmikiramayan.net Prose Commentary
Desiraju Hanumanta Rao's prose rendering with embedded explanatory notes
The source notes a manuscript variant here: some manuscripts read jyeSTaH ('eldest') in place of SaSTa ('sixth'), which would make Devaraata simply Nimi's eldest son rather than the sixth in descent from him. The source favors 'sixth from Nimi' based on Janaka's own account of his lineage given later, at Rama and Sita's wedding.
1 of 16 traditions have commentary on this shloka. Traditions without a verse-specific commentary here are omitted rather than filled in.
Reference: 1.66.8 · Bāla Kāṇḍa