Canto 2 -
Ayodhyā-kāṇḍa
Chapter 80: A Pathway for Bharata’s Journey is Constructed
Text 2.80.10
बबन्धुर्बन्धनीयांश्च क्षोद्यान्संचुक्षुदुस्तदा।
बिभिदुर्भेदनीयांश्च तांस्तान्देशान्नरास्तदा॥
babandhur bandhanīyāṁś ca kṣodyān sañcukṣudus tadā
bibhidur bhedanīyāṁś ca tāṁs tān deśān narās tadā
babandhuḥ = built; bandhanīyān ca = bridges wherever they needed to be built; kṣodyān = the earth wherever it was required; sañcukṣuduḥ tadā = pounded; bibhiduḥ = dug; bhedanīyān = that needed to be dug; ca = and; tān tān deśān = those places; narāḥ = the men; tadā = then.
The men then built bridges wherever they needed to be built, pounded the earth wherever it was required and dug those places that needed to be dug.
Bandhanīyān indicates that bridges were built over places with water [that were on the pathway]. [The artisans] built bridges for the army to cross over. “They pounded the earth wherever required” refers to areas mainly filled with gravel. “They dug the earth wherever required” refers to land with lots of water such as marshes. They did so to remove the water.