Canto 1 - Boyhood
Bāla-kāṇḍa
Chapter 1: Contents of the Rāmāyaṇa Summarized
Text 1.1.3
चारित्रेण च को युक्तः सर्वभूतेषु को हितः।
विद्वान्कः कः समर्थश्च कश्चैकप्रियदर्शनः॥
cāritreṇa ca ko yuktaḥ sarva-bhūteṣu ko hitaḥ
vidvān kaḥ kaḥ samarthaś ca kaś caika-priya-darśanaḥ
cāritreṇa ca = Vedic customs; kaḥ = who; yuktaḥ = always follows; sarva-bhūteṣu = all creatures; kaḥ = who; hitaḥ = benefits; vidvān = is learned; kaḥ = who; kaḥ = who; samarthaḥ ca = can execute anything; kaḥ ca = who; eka-priya-darśanaḥ = is exclusively pleasing to look at.
Who always follows Vedic customs? Who benefits all creatures? Who is learned? Who can execute anything? Who is exclusively pleasing to look at?
Cāritreṇa refers to Vedic customs. “Who always follows such customs?” Śrī Vālmīki’s intention is to find out who never ever transgresses authentic Vedic family customs.
“Who benefits all creatures?” indicates that He does not consider benefiting Himself to be superior to benefiting others. And “all creatures” (sarva-bhūteṣu) includes those who have offended Him.
Vidvān or “learned” indicates that He knows all scriptures.
Eka-priya-darśanaḥ can indicate that He alone in the universe is pleasing to look at. Or else, it can indicate that He is exclusively pleasing to look at, unlike persons of this world who are sometimes pleasing to look at and at other times not pleasing to look at, as there is nothing fully miserable or happy in this world quote12. At every moment, He is newer and newer—He is the very personification of sweetness quote13.