Bala Kanda Sarga 7
Book I : Bala Kanda - The Youthful Majesties
Bala Kanda Sarga 7 in English
Chapter [Sarga] 7 - Ministers of King Dasaratha
Introduction - The truthful and upright characters of the ministers of Dasharatha are portrayed, who make the ruler ship meaningful with their virtuous, skillful and efficient administration. Along with the political ministers, the religious ministry is also portrayed.
1. The misters for the great soul from Ikshvaku kings of Emperor Dasharatha, are epitomised ones of their tactfulness, adroitness and are always obliged to undertake welfare activities of their king and the kingdom. [1-7-1]
2. Eight ministers are there for that valiant and glorious King Dasharatha, who are clean at heart and are involved in the works of the king and kingdom at all time. [1-7-2]
3. Dhristi, Jayantha, Vijaya, Surashtra, Rashtravardhana, Akopa, Dharmapala, are seven, and Sumantra is the eighth one. [1-7-3]
4. Two venerable saints of eminence are religious ministers for they are authorities in Vedic rituals, namely Vashishta and Vamadeva, who are the acquiescent with religious matters, and apart from these two some more religious ministers are also there to King Dasharatha. [1-7-4]
5, 6a. Suyajna, Jabali, Kashyapa, Gautama, Markandeya, Dirghayu, and then Katyayana are the scholarly Brahmans acting as religious ministers, and along with them there are also Brahma-sages who are always the ancestral ritual scholars for Dasharatha’s family. [1-7-5, 6a]
6b, 8a All the ministers are well versed in scriptures, they shun bad deeds, skillful ones in their duties with their senses regulated. Those great souls are affluent, knowers of all sciences, firmly courageous, and they are distinguished and quiet-souls, and those ministers are true to their word. They are magnificent, patient and famed ones and they smile afore they converse. [1-7-6b, 8a]
8b, 9. They never speak untruthful words in anger or in greed or for monetary reasons either. There is nothing unknown to them, even a little, in their own country or in the others either, or about everything that is happening or has happened, or that is going to happen, for they know them through agents. [1-7-8b, 9]
10. They are efficient in administration and their friendships are well examined by the king, and those ministers impose punishment even on their own sons, if situation demands it. [1-7-10]
11. In collections to their treasury and to militarise their armies they are dutiful, even an unfriendly person will not be tortured, if he were not really blameworthy. [1-7-11]
12. They are valiant ones with engineered enthusiasm, administrators of political science, clean persons and protectors of subjects of their kingdom at all times. [1-7-12]
13. They do not persecute Brahman-s and Kshatriya-s to fill-up the treasury, and high degree punishments will be given on assessing that person's, or the offender's strength and weakness. [1-7-13]
14. All of those ministers are clean administrators of kingdom, and are in league with each other, as such there is none anywhere, either in capital or in country, a liar. [1-7-14]
15. None with an evil-mind or with an interest in other man's wife is there, and thus on whole in the kingdom and also like that in the capital, there is an undisturbed society. [1-7-15]
16. Well-dressed and well-decorated and they the ministers of King Dasharatha, observe decency in the interest of the king and also of the kingdom, with diligence and with a truthful-eye. [1-7-16]
17. They acquired good qualities from their mentors and they are renowned by their expertise, and even in foreign countries they are famous for their intellectual determinations in all affairs. [1-7-17]
18. Versatile and virtuous are they the ministers and there is none who discarded his virtuosity, and they are the determiners of truce or war, and by their nature they possess opulence. [1-7-18]
19. They are capable to keep up the confidentiality of strategies, and also capable to apply their mind even in micro-affairs, and they know moral science comprehensively, and above all, they are gentle articulators. [1-7-19]
20. Accompanied with such of those effectual and good-natured ministers the exalted king Dasharatha ruled the earth. [1-7-20]
20-21. He that most generous one among men, Dasharatha, while observing through spies, and to protect people righteously, and to give a good governance to them, he forsook unrighteousness and became a generous king avowed to truthfulness alone, and thus he that Dasharatha ruled the earth, which rulership is renowned in all the three worlds. [1-7-21,22]
23. Emperor Dasharatha has not encountered either a superior or an equal in his kingship, and to him there are many friends, subdued are his provincial kings and eliminated is thorniness by his own valour. He thus ruled the world like Indra would in Heaven. [1-7-23]
24. In the company of those ministers, who are conducive to the strategies, interested in the king and subjects as well, skillful and efficient ones, he that King Dasharatha obtained brilliance, like the rising Sun along with resplendent sunrays. [1-7-24]
श्रीमद्वाल्मीकियरामायणे बालकाण्डे सप्तमः सर्गः ॥१-७॥
तस्य अमात्या गुणैर् आसन् इक्ष्ह्वकोस्तु महात्मनः । मंत्रज्ञाः च इङ्गितज्ञाः च नित्यम् प्रिय हिते रताः ॥१-७-१॥
अष्टौ बभूवुः वीरस्य तस्य अमात्या यशस्विनः । शुचयः च अनुरक्ताः च राजकृत्येषु नित्यशः ॥१-७-२॥
धृष्टिर् जयन्तो विजयो सुराष्ट्रो राष्ट्र वर्धनः । अकोपो धर्मपालः च सुमंत्रः च अष्टमो अर्थवित् ॥१-७-३॥
ऋत्विजौ द्वौ अभिमतौ तस्याः ताम् ऋषि सत्तमौ । वशिष्ठो वामदेवः च मंत्रिणः च तथा अपरे ॥१-७-४॥
सुयज्ञो अपि अथ जाबालिः काशय्पो अपि अथ गौतमः । मार्कण्डेयः तु दीर्घायुः तथा कात्यायनो द्विजः ॥१-७-५॥
एतैः ब्रह्मर्षिभिर् नित्यम् ऋत्विजः तस्य पौर्वकाः । विद्या विनीता ह्रीमंतः कुशला नियतेन्द्रियाः ॥१-७-६॥
श्रीमन्तः च महात्मनः शास्त्रज्ञा धृढ विक्रमाः । कीर्तिमन्तः प्रणिहिता यथा वचन कारिणः ॥१-७-७॥
तेजः क्षमा यशः प्राप्ताः स्मित पूर्व अभिभाषिणः । क्रोधात् काम अर्थ हेतोर् वा न ब्रूयुर् अनृतम् वचः ॥१-७-८॥
तेषाम् अविदितम् किंचत् श्वेषु नास्ति परेषु वा । क्रियमाणम् कृतम् वा अपि चारेण अपि चिकीर्षितम् ॥१-७-९॥
कुशला व्य्वहारेषु सौहृदेषु परीक्षिताः । प्राप्त कालम् यथा दण्डम् धारयेयुः सुतेषु अपि ॥१-७-१०॥
कोश संग्रहणे युक्ता बलस्य च परिग्रहे । अहितम् च अपि पुरुषम् न हिंस्युर् अविदूषकम् ॥१-७-११॥
वीराः च नियतोत्साहा राज शास्त्रम् अनुष्ठिताः । शुचीनाम् रक्षितारः च नित्यम् विषय वासिनाम् ॥१-७-१२॥
ब्रह्म क्षत्रम् अहिंसन्तः ते कोशम् समपूरयन् । सुतीक्ष्ण दण्डाः संप्रेक्ष्य पुरुषस्य बलाबलम् ॥१-७-१३॥
शुचीनाम् एक बुद्धीनाम् सर्वेषाम् संप्रजानताम् । न आसीत् पुरे वा राष्ट्रे वा मृषा वादी नरः क्वचित् ॥१-७-१४॥
कश्चिन् न दुष्टः तत्र आसीत् पर दार रतिर् नरः । प्रशांतम् सर्वम् एव असीत् राष्ट्रम् पुरवरम् च तत् ॥१-७-१५॥
सु वासस सु वेषाः च ते च सर्वे शुचिव्रताः । हितार्थः च नरेन्द्रस्य जाग्रतो नय चक्षुषा ॥१-७-१६॥
गुरोर् गुण गृहीताः च प्रख्याताः च पराक्रमे । विदेशेषु अपि विज्ञाता सर्वतो बुद्धि निश्चयाः ॥१-७-१७॥
अभितो गुणवन्तः च न च आसन् गुण वर्जिताः । सन्धि विग्रह तत्वज्ञाः प्रकृत्या संपदान्विताः ॥१-७-१८॥
मंत्र संवरणे शक्ताः शक्ताः सूक्ष्मासु बुद्धिषु । नीति शास्त्र विशेषज्ञाः सततम् प्रिय वादिनः ॥१-७-१९॥
ईदृशैः तैः अमात्यैः च राजा दशरथोऽनघः । उपपन्नो गुणोपेतैः अन्वशासद् वसुंधराम् ॥१-७-२०॥
अवेक्षमाणः चारेण प्रजा धर्मेण रक्षयन् । प्रजानाम् पालनम् कुर्वन् अधर्मम् परिवर्जयन् ॥१-७-२१॥
विश्रुतः त्रिषु लोकेषु वदान्यः सत्य संगरः । स तत्र पुरुषव्याघ्रः शशास पृथ्वीम् इमाम् ॥१-७-२२॥
न अध्यगच्छत् विशिष्टम् वा तुल्यम् वा शत्रुम् आत्मनः । मित्रवान् नत सामन्तः प्रताप हत कण्टकः । स शशास जगत् राजा दिवि देव पतिर् यथा ॥१-७-२३॥
तैः मंत्रिभिः मंत्र हितेः निविष्टैः वृतोऽनुरक्तैः कुशलैः समर्थैः । स पार्थिवो दीप्तिम् अवाप युक्तः तेजोमयैः गोभिः इव उदितः अर्कः ॥१-७-२४॥
इति वाल्मीकि रामायणे आदि काव्ये बालकाण्डे सप्तमः सर्गः ॥१-७॥