स प्रविश्याश्रमपदं शिष्येण सह धर्मवित् । उपविष्ट: कथाश्चान्याश्चकार ध्यानमास्थित: ।।1.2.22।।
Meaning
Entering the hermitage with his disciple, the sage who knows dharma sat down, spoke of other matters, and settled into meditation.
Word-by-word (pada-artha)
| Word | Devanagari | Meaning | Grammatical role |
|---|---|---|---|
| saḥ | सः | he | Subject — nominative singular |
| praviśya | प्रविश्य | having entered | Absolutive |
| āśramapadam | आश्रमपदम् | the hermitage grounds | Object — accusative singular |
| śiṣyeṇa saha | शिष्येण सह | together with his disciple | Instrumental with the postposition saha |
| dharmavit | धर्मवित् | the knower of dharma | Epithet — nominative singular |
| upaviṣṭaḥ | उपविष्टः | seated himself | Past participle — nominative |
| kathāḥ ca anyāḥ | कथाश्चान्याः | conversation on other matters | Object — accusative plural |
| cakāra | चकार | carried on | Main verb — perfect 3rd sg |
| dhyānam āsthitaḥ | ध्यानमास्थितः | settled into meditation | Predicate phrase — nominative |
Scholar commentary
valmikiramayan.net Prose Commentary
Desiraju Hanumanta Rao's prose rendering with embedded explanatory notes
Valmiki's immediate reaction to his own outburst is puzzlement, not pride -- he wonders aloud what he has just said, examines it with his disciple, and only then names it a sloka: four metrically equal lines, fit to be sung to string accompaniment. The source notes the pun the tradition draws from this: the verse arose from śoka (grief) and became a śloka (verse) -- the two words share a root, and the moment of the Ramayana's origin is built on that wordplay. He then bathes and returns to his hermitage still turning the verse over in his mind, with Bharadwaja following behind.
1 of 16 traditions have commentary on this shloka. Traditions without a verse-specific commentary here are omitted rather than filled in.
Reference: 1.2.22 · Bāla Kāṇḍa