समाक्षरैश्चतुर्भिर्यः पादैर्गीतो महर्षिणा।
सोऽनुव्याहरणाद्भूयः श्लोकः श्लोकत्वमागतः॥
samākṣaraiś caturbhir yaḥ pādair gīto maha-rṣiṇā
so ’nuvyāharaṇād bhūyaḥ ślokaḥ ślokatvam āgataḥ
sama akṣaraiḥ = each containing an equal number of syllables; caturbhiḥ = four; yaḥ = that; pādaiḥ = in lines; gītaḥ = had been sung; mahā-ṛṣiṇā = by the great sage; saḥ = that; anuvyāharaṇāt = because of its subsequent utterance [by the sage’s disciples]; bhūyaḥ ślokaḥ = śloka; ślokatvam = renowned; āgataḥ = [now] became.
That śloka that had been sung by the great sage in four lines, each containing an equal number of syllables, [now] became renowned because of its subsequent utterance by the sage’s disciples.
1 The word śloka can mean (a) a Sanskrit verse that is defined as a śloka by the standard rules of Sanskrit poetry, or (b) a renowned verse. Previously, text 15 was considered a śloka by the first meaning; but now it was considered a śloka by its second meaning.
Samākṣaraiḥ and caturbhiḥ indicated that text 15 belonged to the śloka, not any other, genre of Sanskrit verses. Previously, it was considered a śloka on the basis of its meter. Now, it was considered a śloka on the basis of its fame.1
In some editions of the Rāmāyaṇa, instead of ślokaḥ ślokatvam āgataḥ, the text reads śokaḥ ślokatvam āgataḥ. This would then mean, “The lamentation of the sage about the female krauñca bird (śokaḥ) was then subsequently expressed in the form of a verse containing four lines, each containing an equal number of syllables (ślokaḥ).”