Canto 2 -
Ayodhyā-kāṇḍa
Chapter 14: Daśaratha Grants Kaikeyī her two Boons
Text 2.14.68
सागरहृदयसङ्काशात्सुमन्त्रोऽन्तःपुराच्छुभात्।
निष्क्रम्य जनसम्बाधं ददर्श द्वारमग्रतः॥
sāgara-hṛdaya-saṅkāśāt sumantro ’ntaḥ-purāc chubhāt
niṣkramya jana-sambādhaṁ dadarśa dvāram agrataḥ
sāgara-hṛdaya-saṅkāśāt = that resembled a lake inside an ocean; sumantraḥ = Sumantra; antaḥ-purāt = inner quarters; śubhāt = from the auspicious; niṣkramya = departed and; jana-sambādham = crowded with people; dadarśa = saw; dvāram = the gate; agrataḥ = in front of him.
Sumantra departed from the auspicious inner quarters that resembled a lake inside an ocean and saw the gate in front of him crowded with people.
Because the inner quarters is within the city, it has been compared to a lake within the ocean.