By Kambar (Kavichakravarthy Kamban)
Translated in English by P. R Ramachander
Kamba Ramayanam-Bala Kandam 1 (Padalam 3)
3.Nagara Padalam (Chapter about the city.)
(After describing the country, the poet describes the city , with its huge boundary walls , their great moats , the mansions in them as well its decorations.)
93. Ayodhya is described Using sweet appropriate words ,And the best among the good and sweet words,By all those great poets of yore ,As well as those sages who have written the northern book,Where the people living all over the world without boundaries,Desire to do penance and also those people who live in ether worlds,Consider very suitable to be born again and is a very great city.
94. Is the city of Ayodhya , the face of the earth or the thilaka on its face,Is it the very long auspicious thread of the marriage?Is it the gem studded necklace worn over the breasts?Is it the place to live? , is it the lotus in which Lakshmi lives?Is it the golden box studded with gems worn by Lord Vishnu?Is it the city above the city of devas? How can we tell which?
95. Because Lord Shiva who occupies the other part of body of Parvathi,Lord Vishnu who is the husband to both Goddess Lakshmi and earth,And Lord Brahma who lives on the lotus flower thinking it as great wealth,Have described it as the city which cannot be matched with any other,The sun and moon, pushed by very great desire to wander there without blinking on the sky,And can we find any other reason for them to wander above it?
96. The city of the king of devas who has the sharp Vajrayudha,The city Alakapuri of Khubera were possibly created for practice by Brahma,For the sake of creating this great divine and special city,And Maya as well as the architects of devas stood ashamed, For their inability to create such a city and forgot their jobs,And so how can we describe the greatness of this city,Which has huge tall buildings which even touch the sky?
97. The opinion of the great Vedas is that,Those who do blessed deeds would reach heavens after death,And who else is there in this world except Raghava,Who nurtured dharma with penance in this world?And if that one of very rare and great qualities ,Ruled over all the seven worlds sitting here,Can we point out any other place where,There is much more happiness than this city?
98. If Lord Vishnu , who is the place of protection of all,Those great ones who had mercy and Dharma with them,Who were controlling all the sense organs which were their enemies,And who were blessed with divine knowledge and great penance,Considered tht this is suitable place for his incarnation,And ruled this city for immesurable number of years along with Goddess Lakshmi ,WE have to doubt whether there is any other city,In this universe which is equivalent to this city.
99. All the kings are there, the best among ornaments are there,All the gems which can never be got are all there ,All the elephants in rut with rope tied to their neck are all there,All the things in this world are there ,And if all sages , devas and asuras have all assembled there ,And if all of them praise the greatness of that city,Is there a comparison to it . It is definitely difficult to find.
100. There are no mountains from the snow capped mountains ,Which are like the city’s tall boundary walls ,Which have been erected in a square as per rules of architecture here.And so there is no comparison to its boundary walls ,And if we want to talk about those great boundary walls ,WE can say it is as high as the true divine knowledge ,Which can be got after mastering great books of wisdom ,And after that bring them to practice and get it in the micro form.
101. These boundary walls are similar to Vedas as their end cannot be seen,They are like devas because they also have reached the world of devas,They are like sages because they control outside attachments,They are like like Goddess Durga who rides on deer as they both guard the city,They are like Goddess Kali , because both hold spears for war,(spears are attached to walls)And are like God because both of them are difficult to reach.
102. Those walls seem to have risen up to see the world of devas,And to find out whether that city has pretty damsels like the city of Ayodhya,Which is full of pretty ladies having shining nails fed with red colour,By the juice of red cotton . having lotus like red feet,Having thin waists like a climber plant, With breasts like small unripe coconuts,Having bent bamboo like shoulders which are soft and stout,And having the ability of very pretty attractive speech.
103. Those boundary walls were like the leaders of the clan of Sun,Because it protects (Measures) the world by its scepter(scale),Because they chop off the heads of those kings who attack the city(Walls can throw swords)Because of their just(level) manner as dictated by the books of Manu,Because of their ability to protect the city without anybody noticing it,Because both of them posses weapons like the spear,Because of their great strength , making impossible for others to defeat,Because of their greatness and because of the way that they use the wheel.
104. Armed with machines which can throw weapons like the very angry spear ,The sword which kills enemies , bow , axe , staff , wheel ,THomara and the pestle and with the sling stone .Which scares even the great thunder of clouds ,Each of them being innumerable , these walls would be,Able to kill the crowds of mosquitoes,Or even Garuda , the king of birds , or even,Fast travelling wind and even the mind ,Which thinks about things that are harmful,And if it is so what else needs to be told about security of the wall
105. The kings born in the clan of Sun who protect the people,Who follow virtuous character thinking that fame is better than ornaments, Who shines in that the darkness from all the eight directions,And whose order is implemented by their scepter and wheel ,And are capable of even protecting the worlds of devas ,But what is decorating the city are only those walls.
106. We are now going to talk of the moat which surrounds,The boundary walls like the sea surrounding the round mountain,Which goes very much down like the minds of Prostitutes,Which is not very clear like verses which are not good,And which cannot be approached by any one like private parts of a lady, And has crocodiles like the five senses which prevent people from approaching good things.
107. The clouds which runs along with other cloud groups,Seeing the borderless moat which is as deep as the world of serpents,Thinking that it is the sea which will scare it , takes away water from there,And thinking that the wall by its side is a mountain , rains on it.
108. The forest of scented lotus flowers , which grows inside the moat,Which is by the side of that great wall being defeated in beauty by ,The shining faces of ladies in private apartments of the king ,Again regains its strength and looks as if it surrounds that great wall .
109. The crocodiles which live and rise from,That moat which was built around the city , which had been built,Carefully along with various type of deterrents and built by ,Breaking all the stones all around , looked like elephants in rut.Which could not escape from the sea and are sinking in it.
110. Those crocodiles waving their saw like tails and shining teeth,Open their mouths and along with shining fire like eyes,And are trying to fight and drive each other in that moat,And are like the giants in the battle field who are fighting with each other.
111. That moat was resembling the great army of the kings,With the wandering swans resembling white umbrellas, With the wandering and encircling crocodiles looking like elephants,With the waving lotus flowers along with the leaves resembling the horses, And the fishes that are in it looking like swords and spears.
112. With the moat being built with edges that look like silver ,And the inside of the moat looking as if it was built by crystal sheets,Even devas would not be able to identify the crystal like bank of the moat,From the crystal paved water in the moat .
113. That long and deep moat which was all around.,The walls which looked like Chakravaka mountains ,Is the forest which looked like a ribbon of darkness ,Or if we think it as garden , it looks like a blue ribbon dress.
114. The four gates of that city stood firmly like the elephants ,That are guarding all the directions of the earth and were tall ,Like Trivikrama , the form to which he grew up from the short Vamana form,And because they were making all the prosperous citizens,Of the city walk in the right path, they resembled the four Vedas.
115. When the male dove called with love and,Was attracted by the female dove picture above the gate,And was not coming near it, the lady dove got upset,And went away and hid itself in the Karpaga garden of the world of devas.
116-118. The seven storied tower over these entrances ,Which were raised by arranging stones over each other .Pasted with cut crystal sheets in the front , over which,Gold was in laid and over which several gems were inlaid ,Over which the partitions made of silver were constructed,Over the shining stories constructed with emerald stones, Over which faultless pillars of diamond were arranged,Over which gold was inlaid , over which the long row,Of shining lions were constructed and over which,A hand width of cats eye gems were arranged,And similar Seven stories which looked like seven branches were thus built,AS per the architectural rule of erecting towers ,And over the tower a roof of red copper were spread on the top of those ,Over which at the peak a gem studded pot was kept,And this tower looked like the crown placed on the head of Goddess earth.
119. The white houses which were painted with white lime ,Got from burning the conches and looking at its whitness,It made one exclaim, “Even the moon is blacker than this,”And looked like the foam of the ocean of milk,Which went up as a result of a huge stormy wind.
120. Those houses where the doves with spots on the body lived,Had a roof made of several sheets of gold and looked like,The faultless sun shining on a silver mountain, With its early rays spreading on that mountain.
121. There were crores of such homes in that city ,Which were built on pillars made of diamond.Over which beams made of emerald were erected,And looked like paintings have come out alive.
122. There were also innumerable villas with,Floors paved with moon stone all over,And had rows of pillars made out of sandalwood,Over which beams made of red rubies were kept,And with all its walls paved with blue topaz stones.
123. There were also innumerable homes ,With artistic pillars having lotus shaped base ,In between areas looking like serpents ,Which would be looked at with desire by all people ,With its very soft golden polished looks.
124. The eyelids of those who see it would remain opened,And never get closed and since the sparkling light falls upon them,They would all shine like devas and those ,Houses were always having that sparkle live the air chariots of devas.
125. The ladies wearing pretty ornaments as well as,The men who wear garlands over their chest ,Would always follow boldly the path of Dharma there,And those homes built by gems as well as gold,Would never be less in deeds of Dharma ,And by their luster would even win over the sun.
126 . Those mansions in the city touch the sky ,Are very rich, have their fame spread everywhere,And are surrounded by great light and are ,Bear evidence of innumerable very fair citizens,Who live like their stainless king who follows Dharma.
127. Those mansions bow like a stream and have,Pearl necklaces that move here and there,It has several flags and heaps of big gems ,Have ornaments made of pure Gold ,And also have very pretty peacocks,
128. Those mansions where the smoke of incense mixed everywhere,Had huge flags which cannot be differentiated from clouds,Along with spears tied at the tip of tall flag staffs ,They were like the rows of flashes of lightning.
129. In those mansions where the peacock like ladies,With very thin waists and stout breasts , wearing anklets on both legs,Walk and create jingling sound, the pearl garlands,Hung in those flags looked like Garlands flowered in wish giving trees.
130. Like the banana gardens which are seen in huge mountains,In the flag post long flags are relatively more , and the reason,For the moon to loose his crescents daily and its shine,Is because of the rubbing of these long flags.
131. Those halls which are not made of gold are those,made of flowers,Those halls where large number of people,Do not assemble are buildings with more than one stair,And those which are not constructed hills are courtyards of gems,And those which are not courtyards are Pandals made of gems.
132. That city built by gold which can never be destroyed, When exposed to lights like lightning or lamps or the rays of sun,Was reflected up and city of devas looked golden.
133. The round shaped sun rises in the sky,When it is rising has very weak light ,At noon it increases and at evening .It again decreases and that golden wall ,Built by properly stacking gems which reflect fire ,Makes the sun shine due to luster shines ,Like the shadow of ladies of Ayodhya.
134. When the ladies wearing a well made golden waist belt ,Raised smoke in the mansions to scent and dry their hairs,That black smoke of incense went and attached themselves to the clouds,And if that smoke also makes the ocean scented,Is there need to tell about the quality of rain water?
135. The lisps of girl children whose hair has not been tied,Would resemble the music of the flute , the talk of young girls,Would be similar to the music of Makara yaazh(a stringed instrument),And sweet music sung by the pretty damsels would be like the song of dancers,In the street where the old ones sell toddy.
136. While the male elephants which show anger in their eyes,Are cutting the ground with waving of their feet and making holes, The attractive good to look at youth who go to play ,In those grounds , fill them up by the scented powder that they wear.
137. When the young ladies play ball in the fields , the pearls,They wear keep on falling , and when their lady servants,Collect those limitless pearls and heap them on the field,And these heaps of pearls give out light which make the moon ashamed.
138. When the pretty ladies dance on the stage , the spear,Of the look of their side long eyes , melt the hearts of their lovers,And due to this soul of those boys become as thin as the waist of those ladies,And the love of those boys towards the girls keeps on increasing
139. When in some gardens the honey is raining,The breeze and bees enter the garden to eat them with desire,And when they enter creating pain to lovers, the breasts of ladies,Who are boiling with love to their lover becomes smaller.
140. When the sweet music brought out from Makara Yazh with strumming,Which makes the mind happier decreases in tone ,The drums tied with belts increase in their tone ,And the parrots which talk with the girls close their eyes and sleep.
141. The strong shoulders of men who are kicked with love tiff,By the feet of the girls with a forehead similar to the strung ready bow,And with lips similar to the red fruit and,Who are engaged in painting the nails of their feet,Which are like the red soft lotuses with dense petals, appear red.
142. It is possible that the paintings of that town are not closing their eyes,So that they desire to keep on seeing the shining body without any defects,Of the ladies who are fit to be saluted by every one ,Whose shine makes it difficult to find time in that unmatched city.
143. The darkness of the mansions of the city in which lives The Goddess Lakshmi who lives in the cool lotus flowers,Is shining with light not because of good lamps lit with ghee or the gem lamps ,But due to the shine and luster of the bodies of ladies there.
144. The great dancers of the city used to dance as per rules of dance,Accompanied by drums sound of beats , and sound of songs ,And their anklets used to describe the dance of their feet,And the horse of the city used to dance very much like them.
145. A smile appears on their face and that smile,
leads to great sorrow to the one who loves her,AS their waist keeps on reducing in size ,And their breasts wearing pearl and hold necklaces,Increase in size and make their waist more miserable.
146. Those which do not loose joy from time to time,Are those young swans which have a very pretty gait,The big Kayal fishes in ponds where lotus has flowered,The male bee which lives with its own female bees,And t he elephant in rut eating “birasam?” and also,The eyes of very pretty ladies.
147. The lions with fire like eyes and their lionesses,Would like to live in mountain caves and the ,The water of rut would rain like water,And that would make the mud slushy and,In that chariots with flags would sink .
148. The discarded flower garlands by ladies.Would tie the legs of the horses dancing there,And the discarded sandal paste from their breasts,By the ladies after tiff and making love to their lovers,Would make those who run there slide and fall.
149. When the horses run in the streets, the dust raised by their hoofs raises,And the gems of those heroes who ride on the horses get hidden,And they would be cleaned by the honey dripping from the garlands that they wear.
150. The juice of rut of the elephants have the scent of Vengai flowers,The mouth of girls born in noble families have a scent of lotus,The unmatched light emanating from their ornaments are shining everywhere.And the flower that ladies decorate their hair give out pleasant smell.
151. What is the need to compare the city of devas,Which is not counted in line with best cities, with this city?Apart from it being different in giving all types of wealth,After seeing the market place of this city, the wealthy Alakapuri lost to it
152. The armlets made great sound, their weapons are shining,Their gem studded ornaments shine out , the scent of musk spreads everywhere,The gems shine out , the honey bee swarms are singing,And like this the crowd of gents was shining.
153. The sound of conches and horns , the sound of Makara Veena,The sound of drums , the sound of Kinnara, the sound of hole instruments like flute,And the sound of various musical instruments working in different ways,Were being heard together , making the sound of sea feeble.
154. The city was full of pavilions where the tribute of several kings was being counted,Pavilions where the ladies with swan like gait dance ,Pavilions where the Vedas which is beyond thought are chanted by great people ,And Pavilions where learned people debate about arts which are scarce.
155. ,The ornamental hangings of the village are greater than rays of Sun,The directions all round the city were smaller than the wide streets,The water of rut from elephants bigger than stream on mountain,And The horse stables were bigger than the ocean.
156. The top of the mansions in the city vie with the clouds,The decorative hangings of the city are shining because of pretty faces of ladies there,And the eyes which are like arrows would dip in the hearts of men.
157. The sound produced by the heroic armlets of the king,Are echoing as the sound of golden chariots as also,The sound of the cavalry and the swans in the lotus pond,Where the sound of anklets of pretty damsels is heard are jealous of that.
158. In that city people spend their time in lover’s tiff,And then making love , become happy by singing ,The songs that are greater than the soul,Make expert lady musicians sing and enjoy it,Dance as per the music and decorate themselves with pretty flowers.
159. Riding on trumpeting elephants of great vigour due to their great strength ,And by riding on chariots drawn by very powerful horses,Some people of that city spent their time by giving sufficient wealth and gold,So that sorrow of poor people who are forced to beg is destroyed.
160. Others in that great city spent their time by making ,Elephants fight with other elephants ,Or by learning to use the powerful bows that they are having with them,Or Riding on horses which have long manes.Or by playing the matchless ball or by learning the art of war.
161. Some others in that shining city spent their time by plucking flowers in the garden,Or walking like a female deer along with their young friends and taking bath in the pond,Or by keep on drinking honey so that red pearl colour of their mouth is altered,Or by playing all the games involving dice or by gambling.
162. The flags that are flying on the mansions without any wants,Fly in different ways on the sky and going upward ,Reach the Akasa Ganga and make that river dry,Like The white clouds drink away the water of fish scented ocean.
163. The big entrances of that city blessed with decorative hangings,AS well as the golden ramparts of the inner and outer city making a threesome,All rise up to the sky but finding no place further to grow,Similar to the mountain like shoulders of the male of the city ,And their good character and friendly heart which are rising up,Existed so that even mountains were ashamed on seeing them.
164. In the forests . backyards and the edges of ocean like moat of that city,In the ponds where ladies play , in the mountains where streams are flowing,In the houses on the top and in the pearl strewn on the Pandals,In the garden where several bees keep on making sound ,There would be beds made out of flower and tender leaves.
165. In that city where the clouds that give out clear water and oceans with waves are scared,Daily the drums tied with leather would keep on making soundEven among the animals there is no one to guard as there is no theft,And because there is no one who begs , there is none who gives.
166. Due to the fact there are no one there who have not studied,There is no one there who can be considered as top in one aspect,There are no greats in any aspect and there are none there who do not know anything,Since all the people in the city have learned and posses everything,In that city there are none who do not have anything and also having everything.
167. That city was like the fruit tree , which had sprouted from “Education”,Which has risen up and has large number of branches which are,The knowledge gleaned from various books and is the first and the strong,With great penance as leaves, with buds which is the love towards all beings,Which flower as acts of Dharma which gives rise “sweet experience” as fruit,
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