इमौ कुमारौ भद्रं ते देवतुल्यपराक्रमौ।
गजसिंहगती वीरौ शार्दूलवृषभोपमौ॥
पद्मपत्रविशालाक्षौ खड्गतूणीधनुर्धरौ।
अश्विनाविव रूपेण समुपस्थितयौवनौ॥
यदृच्छयैव गां प्राप्तौ देवलोकादिवामरौ।
कथं पद्भ्यामिह प्राप्तौ किमर्थं कस्य वा मुने॥
imau kumārau bhadraṁ te deva-tulya-parākramau
gaja-siṁha-gatī vīrau śārdūla-vṛṣabhopamau
padma-patra-viśālākṣau khaḍga-tūṇī-dhanurdharau
aśvināv iva rūpeṇa samupasthita-yauvanau
yadṛcchayaiva gāṁ prāptau deva-lokād ivāmarau
kathaṁ padbhyām iha prāptau kimarthaṁ kasya vā mune
imau kumārau = they are [mere] boys; bhadram te = auspiciousness unto you; deva-tulya-parākramau = their heroism is equal to that of Lord Viṣṇu; gaja-siṁha-gatī = their gait is like that of an elephant and lion; vīrau = those heroes; śārdūla-vṛṣabha-upamau = resemble a tiger and a bull; padma-patra-viśāla-akṣau = their long eyes are as beautiful as lotus leaves; khaḍga-tūṇī-dhanurdharau = each of them holds a mace, arrows and a bow; aśvinau iva = they are like the Aśvinī-kumāras; rūpeṇa = in beauty; samupasthita-yauvanau = they appear to have arrived at youth; yadṛcchayā eva gām prāptau = who, by good fortune, have descended to earth; deva-lokāt iva amarau = they seem to be immortals from the world of the demigods; katham = how; padbhyām = on foot; iha prāptau = did these two personalities arrive here; kimartham = why did They come here; kasya vā = whose [sons] are They; mune = O sage.
O sage, auspiciousness unto you. How did these two personalities arrive here on foot? Why did They come here? Whose [sons] are They? They are [mere] boys. Their heroism is equal to that of Lord Viṣṇu. Their gait is like that of an elephant and lion. Those heroes resemble a tiger and a bull. Their long eyes are as beautiful as lotus leaves. Each of them holds a mace, arrows and a bow. In beauty, they are like the Aśvinī-kumāras. They appear to have arrived at youth. They seem to be immortals who, by good fortune, have descended to earth from the world of the demigods.
1 Merely by seeing Them, one becomes self-satisfied. That would naturally imply that They Themselves are self-satisfied. Then why did They have to come here, taking so much trouble? This is the sense.
King Sumati was astonished [while looking at Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa]. He desired that no evil eye be cast upon Them. Therefore, he remarked, “Auspiciousness unto you.”
Four kinds of gait are described [by authorities]: the gait of an elephant is the gait of gravity, the gait of a lion is the gait of being capable of overpowering others, the gait of a tiger is the fearsome gait, and the gait of a bull is the gait of pride. [Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa exhibited these four kinds of gait.]
The word vīrau here indicates that these heroes specifically cause Their enemies to cry; in other words, They remove those who obstruct those who relish experiencing Them. Their long eyes were attractive. The final limit of loveliness is the beauty of one’s eyes. Their weapons were Their ornaments. The Aśvinī-kumāras are famous for their beauty. In prowess, Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa appeared to King Sumati to be equal to the immortal sons of the devas.
The lotus feet of Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa are tender. How come they have set upon this difficult path? By a mere sight of Their beauty, one becomes self-satisfied. So why did They have to come here?1 For which purpose? For whose sake? These were the questions in King Sumati’s mind.
Mune (“O sage”) indicates that Sumati considered Viśvāmitra to be omniscient and so he would know the answers to his questions.