पाठ्ये गेये च मधुरं प्रमाणैस्त्रिभिरन्वितम्।
जातिभिः सप्तभिर्बद्धं तन्त्रीलयसमन्वितम्॥
रसैः शृङ्गारकारुण्यहास्यवीरभयानकैः।
रौद्रादिभिश्च संयुक्तं काव्यमेतदगायताम्॥
pāṭhye geye ca madhuraṁ pramāṇais tribhir anvitam
jātibhiḥ saptabhir baddhaṁ tantrī-laya-samanvitam
rasaiḥ śṛṅgāra-kāruṇya-hāsya-vīra-bhayānakaiḥ
raudrādibhiś ca saṁyuktaṁ kāvyam etad agāyatām
pāṭhye = to recite; geye = sing; ca = and; madhuram = that is sweet; pramāṇaih = musical measures; tribhih = by three; anvitam= characterized; jātibhiḥ= jātis; saptabhiḥ = in seven; baddham = composed; tantrī-laya-samanvitam = capable of being sang with a vīṇā and other stringed musical instruments; rasaiḥ = the rasas; śṛṅgāra-kāruṇya-hāsya-vīra-bhayānakaiḥ = conjugal love, compassion, comedy, chivalry; raudra-ādibhiḥ ca = and; dread and ghastliness; saṁyuktam = filled with; kāvyam = poem; etat = this; agāyatām = the two boys sang.
The two boys sang this poem that is sweet to recite and sing, characterized by three musical measures, composed in seven jātis, capable of being sang with a vīṇā and other stringed musical instruments and with rhythmic tempo, and filled with the rasas such as conjugal love, compassion, comedy, chivalry, dread and ghastliness.
[18] ṣaḍ-alaṅkāra-saṁyuktaṁ kalā-kāla-samanvitam / yat paṭhyate nāṭakādau tat pāṭhyam abhidhīyate.
1 The rasa of servitude is beautifully described in the exploits of Śrī Hanumān, the very personification of this rasa, in the beautiful Sundara-kāṇḍa (Canto 5). The rasa of friendship is brought out in Lord Rāma’s dealings with Sugrīva. The love of Kausalyā and Sumitrā (and later on Kaikeyī too) for Śrī Rāmacandra in the rasa of motherly affection as well as Daśaratha’s fatherly affection reveal the rasa of vātsalya.
They sang as they had been instructed. Pāṭhyam, “sweet to recite,” pertains strictly to pronunciation as noted by Bharata Muni [18]. Geyam, “sweet to sing,” refers to singing in specific musical notes (svaras). The Rāmāyaṇa was sweet to hear. Ordinarily, some poems are sweet to recite but not sweet to sing, while others are sweet to sing but not sweet to recite. This poem, Śrī Rāmāyaṇa, however, is sweet in both ways.
The Rāmāyaṇa describes events in various rasas. The portion describing events after the wedding of Sītā and Rāma until Rāvaṇa kidnaps her reveal the rasa of conjugal love in the state of union; the events afterwards reveal the same in the state of separation. The incident of Śūrpaṇakhā easily reveals the rasa of comedy. The incidents about Daśaratha reveal the rasa of compassion. Chivalry is seen in incidents dealing with Lakṣmaṇa. Anger is revealed in incidents concerning Rāvaṇa. Dread is seen in incidents concerning Mārīca. Ghastliness is revealed in incidents about Virādha and Kabandha. Astonishment is found in the battle between Rāma and Rāvaṇa. Śānta-rasa is seen in the renounced sages described herein.1