Canto 2 -
Ayodhyā-kāṇḍa
Chapter 89: Bharata Crosses Gaṅgā and Reaches Prayāga
Text 2.89.15
पताकिन्यस्तु ता नावः स्वयं दाशैरधिष्ठिताः।
वहन्त्यो जनमारूढं तदा संपेतुराशुगाः॥
patākinyas tu tā nāvaḥ svayaṁ dāśair adhiṣṭhitāḥ
vahantyo janam ārūḍhaṁ tadā sampetur āśugāḥ
patākinyaḥ tu = sailing; tāḥ = those; nāvaḥ = boats; svayam = by themselves; dāśaiḥ = by fishermen; adhiṣṭhitāḥ = superintended; vahantyaḥ = carrying; janam = the people; ārūḍham = who had been boarded; tadā sampetuḥ = sailed; āśugāḥ = swiftly.
Carrying the people who had been boarded, those sailing boats superintended by the fishermen sailed swiftly by themselves.
“They sailed swiftly by themselves” means “As soon as the fishermen operated the boats, they sailed swiftly by themselves, that is, without difficulty.”
How did those boats look like? That is described next.