By Kambar (Kavichakravarthy Kamban)
Translated in English by P. R Ramachander
Kamba Ramayanam-Bala Kandam 1 (Padalam 2)
2. Nattu Padalam (The chapter on the country)
(After describing the river of the country, the author describes the Kosala country of Dasaratha. Sage Valmiki has also described the KOsala country)
32.Using four lined verses , the great one called Valmiki,Composed sweet poems which were drunk by devas using their ears,After drinking the alcohol called love , I am now talking ,About the country he described like a dumb one who has started talking.
33.There , all the fields were full of pearls, the water ways to fields were full of conches,The paths dividing fields meant for over flow of water were full of pure gold,The ditches where buffaloes take bath was all full of red lotus flowers,Corals in places water stood , swans occupying all the paddy fields,In the uncultivated land near by , were flowing with honey,And in all the pretty gardens bees were dancing after drinking honey.
34. In the limits of that great cultivable lands was the sound of rivers flowing,The sound created by farmers when they were working,The sound of juice of sugarcane flowing from the work place,The big sound which was coming out of the big mouth of conches,The sound of bull dashing against bull. The sound created by buffalos swimming in the waterWere being heard one mixing with the other , in different times.
35. With peacocks playing in the garden , With lotus flowers holding the lamps,With clouds making sound like drums, With kuvalai flowers opening their eyes and seeing,With water storages shining like curtains, With bees singing like the honey sound Of Yaazh(a stringed instrument),It appeared as if the lady of cultivable land was sitting in a regal manner.
36. The goddess Mahalakshmi who increases the beauty of the bees lives in the lotus,The eyes of ladies and the arrows of God of love, would strike the lovers in the cool evenings,The corals of the ocean and the shining pearls would live in the big black clouds,And the truth and the inner meaning of famous books live on the Toungues of people of Kosala.
37. The water would sleep in the conches, the buffaloes sleep in the shades of trees,The bees sleep inside flower garland, The goddess Lakshmi sleeps inside the lotus flowers,The Tortoise sleeps in the slushy mud, The shells of pearls would sleep in stored waters,The swans sleep in the harvested paddy and the peacock sleeps in the gardens.
38. The Gold which comes out when ploughing, the pearls produced by the shells,The collection of gems which shine in the fields which have been ploughed,The new fresh awns of paddy and the tender sugarcane and the bees,And faces of the farm women , like the lotus flower shine with their eyes open.
39. The rustic musicians having small lyre producing clear music notes,After drinking the toddy made with sweetness along with soft drum beats,And the songs which were being sung here and there, would wake up,Those peacock like ladies with jet black eye sleeping on the cots made of pure gold,On the halls which shine with pure whiteness of the high order.
40. The sweet juice coming out of sugarcane in the factories, The juice coming out of cutting the flowers by toddy tappers,The sweet juice flowing out of the fallen fruits in the orchards,The honey flowing out of the pierced wound made by arrows in honeycombs,The honey that flows from the flower garlands ,being excess flowed rapidly,Reached the places where ships are there in the sea and fishes drank them and were overjoyed.
41. The farm women spoke words which are as sweet as poems,And their broad long eyes were matching with their hands, legs as well as mouth,And since none of their limbs were similar to the pretty weed flowers like lotus,Those farmers from whose side of the mouth , the toddy flowed ,Were walking hither and thither not able to throw away the weeds,Because of the great love they had for their women folk. Would they be able to live?
42. The waves of the black sea were full of the scent taken from the hairs of the women,Decorated by sandal and flowers, Who were taking bath in the newly flowing water of the rivers,And what can we say about the number of such women , who were speaking honey like words by their red mouth,And who were seeing the men with their sword like side long eyes, making the men desire for them.
43. Due to the pretty men who were wearing ear studs and also wearing the creams mixed with natural camphor,And also sandal paste mixed further with saffron . taking bath by dipping in the river ,Making the excess water flow in to the gardens and in the fields of crops like paddy,In those areas and in places of alluvial soil, the bees would always be crowding about.
44. The red legged swan wandering in the fields like the ladies who had fish like eyes,Had left their tender young ones on the bed of lotus flowers, and they started drinking milk ,That was flowing from the udders of buffaloes with slushy mud sticking on their legs , When then they started making noise recollecting the young ones and let out milk,And started sleeping to the lullaby sung by the green coloured toads.
45. While the koels are happy with their mate ,While the peacocks that were dancing behind the tree branches ,Were making the stage prettier than the ladies with the spear like eyes,The swans with packed feather were sleeping on the bed of very many lotus flowers,And to wake them up the bees being drunk were singing the tunes which are to be sung at dusk.
46-49 . While those who have married ladies who were very compatible with them,Who were following them like the shadow that follows the flying kite ,Were enjoying the music sung which were following its grammar,Were enjoying with their ears the great books which were sweeter than nectar,And Were celebrating the festival of food after they saw the face of their guests, Some others were showing an angry mind and reddish coloured eyes, Seeing the cock with a knife tied on its feet, showing severe anger without any previous enmity,Showing no distaste for entering in to The war , because if a stain is created in the valorousness of life,And did not bother about their life and those make them fight,And some others , who were surrounded by bees which were attractedBy the flowers that they wore in their hair,Were shouting at the top of their voice the sound of which went up to the cloud,When the red eyed buffalo calves given birth by the she buffaloes ,Were dashing against each other making others feel it is the angry thunder,And then were nearing each other making one feel that the darkness has spread everywhere,And later dividing themselves in to two groups , then got angry with each other,And there were also farmers who were driving the bullocks shouting at them ,Making the white tip of lotus flowers , opening on the stem with thorns, break,Making the gold and pearls in the land swept to a side ,With the conch called Chalamchala making booming sound,With fishes caught in the plough spring here and there,With tortoises withdrawing themselves in to their shells,And the big wishes trying to hide themselves in the side of the path.
50. Since the country was protected by a king, who knew the rules of ruling,Who kept his desires under control , Who got angry when and where he should,Who knew the amount of tax that he was collecting and who was merciful to his citizens,
That country was avoiding the burden and were similar to the land which was like god to them,And the ships unburdened themselves their golden imports on the beach land.
51. The Farmers carried the harvested straw of the paddy cut by the knife ,Arranged them in heaps which touched the sky, marked them for identification,And after beating the paddy, they used to heap them and while bringing it to depotsWould help the needy and would make some paddy reach their homes so that guests can take them,And the rest would be laden fully and carried in carts and these would make the earth bend due to their load.
52. The farmers like the honey bee which takes up honey from various flowers,Take up the cultivation of cereal crops which grow in the fields in plains,Scented flower crops which grow in water, fruit crops which are harvested from old trees,Pulse crops which grow in uplands,. Fruits and flower crop grown from cuttings,And various other Root and tuber crops which are grown in pits.
53. All over the country the nectar like food suitable to be served to gods of earth, Which consisted of three fruits (Jack, banana and mango) which are considered the best fruits,Along with various type of Dhals , with ghee drowning the food that has been served,With pieces of red curd and with sugar candy pieces placed in between the cooked rice,Were cooked in every house and was partaken along with various guests and relatives,
54. The male bees in those crop lands seeing the shining lotus like faces,Of young girls , which had pretty eyes on which collyrium was applied,And thinking that they were female bees who were their consorts,With great love waited all the day long in those Crop growing lands.
55. On one side of that crop land , the ladies of the farm who were having,A face which has won the god of love , along with breasts which make the passion grow,Which make the males submissive , Made them stand erect like The ribbon fishes,Which had drunk the toddy that was oozing out from the leaf sheaths .
56. The black she buffalos which are immersed in cold water of the field,Which looked like some blue clouds of the sky , used to rain the milk ,From their udder , when they thought about their calves m which were,Left out In the village and due to that the red paddy crops look more healthy.
57. The water that used to wash the rice before it is kept for cooking,In a kitchen which does not have any scarcity for any thing,Over flows and flows through the garden of very tall betel nut palms ,And would reach the nursery field of red rice and make the seedlings healthy.
58. Those very clear coloured cocks with plumes on their head,When they scratched the earth with dirt using their legs ,See shining ruby stones on that heap of dirt,And thinking they are glow worms , would keep them in their nests.
59. The maidens of the caste of cow herds would churn the curd,Which has white foam colour till the sound of churner is heard ,Again and again , With their ornamental conch bangles creates the sound of murmur,And with their verry narrow waists which makes them bent forward,Till their extremely pretty hands start paining.
60. The sweet musical sound of the sweet young birds in the crop fields,The sound of young bees which is heard on the buds of flowers,And the sound created by the flock of birds near the water bodies,Are similar to the auspicious song of the pestle in the homes of rich charitable people.
61. , Those girls with black eyes who reside near the sea shore,Who have not learnt how to attract the mind of men,Go and bring the shells of betel nuts in a small containers,And build small houses in their courtyards, where pearls are scattered.
62. The water rich clouds which are hindered by huge mountains,Shines after getting scared after hearing the huge sound created byBy dashing of the heads of the very huge headed male sheep,Which have two huge horns and are born the very soft natured female sheep.
63. Leaving out the she elephants and calves , when the elephants,Are tied using chains , in the areas where they are available for capture,By those valorous people who normally live in the mountain,The sound raised by them would scare away male swans which are happy with their mates.
64. Those who dig for root crops get very costly gems from there,While those who harvest hanging mango fruits would get honey drops,And those golden coloured punnai flowers would have dots,And the swans which live in lotus tank would be sleeping.
65. In the courtyards of cowherds with flute made bamboo and ixora tree, The song of Kuravai of land which is cultivated makes calves sleep,The songs by the ladies occupying area near sea and the beach,Flies and is heard in gardens which are guarded and lands which are irrigated.
66. Due to the dashing of wind in the bamboo bush , when the bee hive breaks ,And when the new honey flows like snakes hanging from mountains,Makes the colocasia stems break due to its speed,And it is being grazed by conches in canals flowing from tanks with lilies.
67. Those broad eyed ladies have crescent shaped,Forehead and have great wealth as well as great knowledge,And because of that they give feast to all those who approach them,And also daily host a feast for every one and what else can one expect?
68. In all the halls where free food is given with desire , there lie Heaps of good and pure vegetable cut with crescent shaped knifeAlong with cooked dhal and along with rice of the colour of white pearl.
69. To all those citizens of that Kosala country,Ships would continuously bring them very great wealth,The cultivable lands continuously would lead them to prosperityThe mines would continuously give them precious stones,And the difficult to get clan heritage would give them good conduct.
70. Since nothing wrong is committed there , there is no unnatural death,Due to the purity of thought of people , there is no anger there,Due to absence of activities which are not good ,Except for progress there is no deterioration.
71. That which spreads crossing its path there, is the flood,That which has lost its recognition, is the shoulders of saffron mark,That which is small is the thin , are waists of ladies there ,And that which is scented there is the hair of girls decorated by flowers.
72. The smoke raised by putting incense sticks in fire, The smoke from kitchen,The good smoke coming from Sugarcane processing places,And the pretty smoke coming from Vedic fire sacrifices,Spread everywhere and were looking like exuberant clouds.
73. The peacocks have borrowed prettiness from their ladies and walk about,The sun was shining like the ornaments worn by those ladies over their breastsThe clouds were moving in sky resembling the hair on the head of those ladies,And the pretty fishes which are like their eyes are rolling about in fields.
74. Those ladies whose waists look as if it is real were bathing in the churning water,The lotus flowers which were like their reddish lips were opening ,And they were walking like swans in the lake along with pretty locks ,And the face of those ladies of that country opened like lotus flowers.
75. The spear like eyes of the ladies were laughing at the four faced Brahma,Their gait was laughing at the walk of the she elephants,Their two breasts were laughing at the lotus buds,And their pretty faces were making fun of the moon with his crescents.
76. The gems that those ladies were wearing were shining better than the Sun,The breasts of those women were looking better than tender coconuts,The cloths that they were wearing was thinner than the foam of milk,And the drums played at their wedding was louder than the thunder of clouds.
77. The gardens of that country was comparable to the clouds ,The heaps of harvested produce in their fields was comparable to mountains,The water that they have stopped in their dams was looking like the sea,And that country blessed with wealth was similar to the land of devas.
78. Wherever mountains of paddy is not there , there would be mountains of pearls,Wherever the pearl mountains were not there, there were mountains of sea nectar(salt),Wherever those salt mountains are not there , there were mountains of Gold brought by the river,And in several places there were huge sand banks full of costly gems.
79. The place where pretty damsels learn to play the ball,Even though if it is not a sandal forest , due to their body scent would be Champaka forest,And place where the Muruga(Subrahamanya) like males learn archery and other arts,Though it is a garden with various flowers , will have a jasmine scent.
80. The nightingales in that country speak the sugar like sweet baby talk of their ladies,The peacocks learn their gait again from them, And the young female shells of the sea .Are only giving out pearls after seeing their teeth.
81. In the homes of those who sell toddy , old toddy is there,In the homes of those who cultivate , the implements for cultivation are there,In the homes of the young men who get married, the sound of auspicious instruments echoes,And in the house very great musicians(panar) , there are Yaazh with strings.
82. The flower garlands there ooze out honey ,The commercial ships that come bring lot of gems and gold,The wind showers the nectar drops that give life,And the stories written by poets give songs sweet to the ears.
83. The peacocks which have very pretty feathers ,Seeing the pleasing shadow of their peahens follow them,Similar to the mind of youth , who after seeing ,Their girls with flower ornamented hair,And With pearl necklaces hanging over their breasts,
84. Since poverty is not there, there is no charity there,Since there are none to fight face to face ,Strength cannot be exhibited,Since no body tells a lie , there is no definition of truth,And since wealth of questions are asked , there is no ignorance.
85. Since carts bringing huge stocks of gingelly, millets , ragi and maizeAnd the carts bringing lot of salt from the slushy salt farmsAre not able to be driven properly due to heaviness of their load,They are being pushed by men who meet and mingle with each other.
86. Like those souls who cannot get salvation due to lack of divine wisdom,Are born several times to completely wipe away Karmas done earlier,Sugar, honey , sugary juices , the curd of lands of cowherds and toddy.
87. In those streets where the vocal music and the music from flute,Is sung separately , like a river meeting yet another river,The crowds coming for festivals and marriages meet with each other.
88. The sound of conches which are played by keeping them in the nose,The sound of drums which give sound when beaten by sticks,And the sound of big drums that are hung on the shoulder by belts,Would all fade away in the sound of chastising of bulls by farmers.
89. The pretty hands of ladies who feed milk and rice,To those children wearing the locket of Lord Vishnu ,And who rain watery nectar like fluid from their mouth on their chests, Look like the folded lotus flowers when the moon rises.
90. The outer beauty was permanent due to their inner beauty,Due to their being without a lie , their justice lives permanently,Due to love of their women , all the dharmas were permanent,And due to the virtuous life of their women , the seasonal rain was permanent.
91. Who is capable of going round its garden filled lands,And come back safely after seeing its boundaries?For even the river Sarayu with plenty of flowing water,Which runs through several canals has not seen its boundaries.
92. We have till now told about the greatness ,Of the faultless city of Kosala, which cannot be destroyed.Even if the entire sea lead by huge wind enters in to it.,And now we would describe about its capital city Ayodhya.
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