अवेक्षमाणश्चारेण प्रजा धर्मेण रञ्जयन्।
प्रजानां पालनं कुर्वन्नधर्मं परिवर्जयन्॥
विश्रुतस्त्रिषु लोकेषु वदान्यः सत्यसङ्गरः।
स तत्र पुरुषव्याघ्रः शशास पृथिवीमिमाम्॥
avekṣamāṇaś cāreṇa prajā dharmeṇa rañjayan
prajānāṁ pālanaṁ kurvann adharmaṁ parivarjayan
viśrutas triṣu lokeṣu vadānyaḥ satya-saṅgaraḥ
sa tatra puruṣa-vyāghraḥ śaśāsa pṛthivīm imām
avekṣamāṇaḥ = observing the activities of his kingdom as well as other kingdoms; cāreṇa = through his spies; prajāḥ = the citizens; dharmeṇa = through dharma; rañjayan = delighting; prajānām = the citizens; pālanam kurvan = maintaining; adharmam = adharma; parivarjayan = avoiding; viśrutaḥ = famous; triṣu = in the three; lokeṣu = worlds; vadānyaḥ = charitable; satya-saṅgaraḥ = true to his promise; saḥ = that; tatra puruṣa-vyāghraḥ = best of men; śaśāsa = ruled; pṛthivīm = earth; imām = over this.
Observing the activities of his kingdom as well as other kingdoms through his spies, delighting the citizens through dharma, maintaining the citizens, avoiding adharma, famous in the three worlds, that charitable best of men, true to his promise, ruled over this earth while residing in Ayodhyā.
[5] vane vanacarāḥ kāryāḥ śramaṇāṭavikādayaḥ / para-pravṛtti-jñānārthaṁ śīghrāś cāra-paraṁparāḥ.[1]
[6] saṅgāraḥ... pratijñā-vipadoḥ (Yādava).
1 In Patrick Olivelle’s edition of Manu-smṛti, this verse appears as an additional verse after text 7.154.
King Daśaratha’s spies were his eyes. Cāreṇa refers to his many spies through whom he observed the activities of his kingdom and other kingdoms. As instructed by Manu, the ruler should learn about the status of his kingdom through several spies [5].
King Daśaratha delighted his citizens through dharma in the form of punishing the punishable and so on. He maintained the citizens by preventing any undesirable event from happening to them and by helping them attain their desires. He avoided adharma in the form of punishing the unpunishable and so on. He was famous in the three worlds for his charity, prowess and similar traits. Satya-saṅgaraḥ indicates that the king was true to his promise [6].