Bala Kanda, Sarga 7

Meaning

The ministers of the exceptionally high-souled King Daśaratha, a scion of Ikṣwāku, knew how to weigh the pros and cons of a problem, could read the mind of others and were ever devoted to the welfare of their beloved master. In short, they were endowed with all virtues appropriate to a minister. (1)

Meaning

Eight1 were the ministers of that heroic king, who were all glorious, pure of mind and conduct and ever devoted to the interests of the king (i.e., affairs of the state). (2)

Meaning

They were Dhṛṣṭi, Jayanta, Vijaya, Surāṣṭra, Rāṣṭravardhana, Akopa, Dharmapāla and Arthavit, Sumantra being the eighth. (3)

Meaning

Vasiṣṭha and Vāmadeva, the foremost of seers, were his two beloved family priests (and counsellors too). And there were other counsellors2 too, viz., Suyajña and Jābāli, Kāśyapa (a scion of Kaśyapa) and Gautama, the long-lived Mārkaṇḍeya and the Brāhmaṇa Kātyāyana. (4-5)

Meaning

Alongwith these Brāhmaṇa seers, his hereditary priests too ever functioned as his counsellors also. The ministers were all modest through learning, bashful by nature and clever, had fully controlled their senses, were affluent, high-souled, well-versed in the use of weapons, possessed of unbending prowess, glorious, vigilant, true to their word, majestic, forgiving and far-famed. They spoke with a smile ever playing on their lips and would never tell a lie even in anger or for the sake of sense-enjoyment or wealth. (6—8)

Meaning

Nothing connected with their own people or with others was unknown to them; whatever was done or sought to be done by the people was known to them through spies. (9)

Meaning

They were all tactful in their dealings with others, had been tried in the matter of loyalty, and meted out punishment even to their own sons, strictly according to the law when occasion demanded it. (10)

Meaning

They were ever intent on augmenting the state exchequer and consolidating the army and did not persecute even an enemy if he was not found guilty. (11)

Meaning

They were great heroes with an undying zeal for warfare and followed the precepts of political science; they protected under all circumstances the people of good conduct in their state. (12)

Meaning

They filled the coffers of the state without harassing the Brāhmaṇa and the Kṣatriya communities and inflicted heavy (or small) penalties, of course, after duly considering the abundant or meagre resources3 of the offender and the gravity or otherwise of the offence committed by him. (13)

Meaning

As a result of the ministers being all upright in their dealings, nay,of one mind and fully discerning, there was no man who told a lie anywhere in the city of Ayodhyā or, for that matter, in the entire kingdom. (14)

Meaning

Nay, there was no wicked man or one having liaison with another’s wife anywhere in that kingdom. On the other hand, the whole state as well as the aforesaid city of Ayodhyā (the foremost of all cities) was perfectly tranquil (free from turmoil or tribulation). (15)

Meaning

They were all finely dressed and well-adorned, and were of holy resolve; the welfare of the king (the state) was their sole purpose in life and they were always wide awake, seeing everything with the eyes of prudence. (16)

Meaning

Favoured of the preceptor of the king because of their numerous virtues and celebrated for their prowess, they were universally recognized even in foreign lands, their conclusions being based on their own intellect. (17)

Meaning

They were qualified all round and were never devoid of virtues. They were conversant with the principles determining the propriety of peace and war and were naturally endowed with the divine properties. (18)

Meaning

They were capable of maintaining the secrecy of deliberations and further capable of subtle reasoning. They possessed a special knowledge of political science and always spoke kindly. (19)

Meaning

Assisted by such qualified ministers, as mentioned above, and priests and counsellors, free from all vices*, Emperor Daśaratha ruled over the entire globe (the Kingdom). (20)

Meaning

Seeing everything with his eyes in the form of spies and protecting the people through righteousness, nay, providing maintenance for his subjects and abstaining from unrighteousness, the said tiger among men, who was munificent and true to his promise and well-known as such in all the three worlds, ruled over this earth while residing in Ayodhyā. (21-22)

Meaning

He never met an enemy, who could match, much less excel, him in strength, and had a number of allies; the rulers of the adjoining territories bowed to him, i.e., accepted his suzerainty and all his enemies were got rid of by his very glory. In this way the emperor ruled over the world even as Indra, the ruler of the gods, reigns supreme in heaven. (23)

Meaning

Surrounded by the aforesaid counsellors, who had been charged with the act of deliberation and were devoted to the interests of the state, nay, who were clever and efficient and loyal to the king, the said monarch, Emperor Daśaratha, shone with splendour even as a rising sun shines bright when joined with its glorious rays. (24)