बद्धाञ्जलिपुटा स्सर्वे दूता विगतसाध्वसा:। राजानं प्रयता वाक्यमब्रुवन्मधुराक्षरम्।
Meaning
On seeing the king the messengers bowed down before him and delivered the message of Janaka.
Word-by-word (pada-artha)
| Word | Devanagari | Meaning | Grammatical role |
|---|---|---|---|
| baddha-añjali-puṭāḥ sarve | बद्ध-अञ्जलि-पुटाः सर्वे | all, hands joined in a cupped gesture | Nominative plural (x2) |
| dūtāḥ vigata-sādhvasāḥ | दूताः विगत-साध्वसाः | the messengers, their fear gone | Nominative plural (x2) |
| rājānam prayatā vākyam | राजानम् प्रयता वाक्यम् | attentively, a word, to the king | Accusative / Nominative plural / Accusative |
| abruvan madhura-akṣaram | अब्रुवन् मधुर-अक्षरम् | said, of sweet syllables | Verb (imperfect) / Accusative |
Scholar commentary
valmikiramayan.net Prose Commentary
Desiraju Hanumanta Rao's prose rendering with embedded explanatory notes
The source notes that the envoys' anxiety vanishes the moment they see Dasharatha in person -- adding that Dasharatha's domestic troubles with Kaikeyi are a private, 'domestic cold war' that Valmiki does not dwell on, and do not diminish his real stature as a king famed for fighting wars even on behalf of gods. This is why, whenever Rama's valor is to be emphasized elsewhere, he is called 'Dasharatha's son.'
1 of 16 traditions have commentary on this shloka. Traditions without a verse-specific commentary here are omitted rather than filled in.
Reference: 1.68.4 · Bāla Kāṇḍa