क: स्थित: प्रतिहारो मे कस्याज्ञा सम्प्रतीक्ष्यते। स्वगृहे को विचारोऽस्ति यथा राज्यमिदं तव।
Meaning
'Who stands as gatekeeper against you? Whose leave is awaited? What deliberation is needed in your own home, when this kingdom itself is as much yours as mine?'
Word-by-word (pada-artha)
| Word | Devanagari | Meaning | Grammatical role |
|---|---|---|---|
| kaḥ sthitaḥ pratihāraḥ me | कः स्थितः प्रतिहारः मे | what gatekeeper stands for me | Interrogative / Nominative / Nominative / Genitive |
| kasya ājñā sampratīkṣyate | कस्य आज्ञा सम्प्रतीक्ष्यते | whose command is awaited | Genitive / Nominative / Verb (present, passive) |
| sva-gṛhe kaḥ vicāraḥ asti | स्व-गृहे कः विचारः अस्ति | what deliberation is there in one's own house | Locative / Interrogative / Nominative / Verb (present) |
| yathā rājyam idam tava | यथा राज्यम् इदम् तव | this kingdom is as much yours | Adverbial / Nominative / Nominative / Genitive |
Scholar commentary
valmikiramayan.net Prose Commentary
Desiraju Hanumanta Rao's prose rendering with embedded explanatory notes
The source explains Janaka's rhetorical questions here -- 'who is that doorman preventing your entry? Whose leave do you await?' -- as neither literal questions nor complaints, but a customary form of wedding-time banter exchanged between the two allied families (called samdhi in the north, sammandi in the south), meant to put both sides at ease with each other.
1 of 16 traditions have commentary on this shloka. Traditions without a verse-specific commentary here are omitted rather than filled in.
Reference: 1.73.14 · Bāla Kāṇḍa