इतीव रामो बहु संगतं वचः प्रियासहायः सरितं प्रति ब्रुवन्।
चचार रम्यं नयनाञ्जनप्रभं स चित्रकूटं रघुवंशवर्धनः॥
itīva rāmo bahu saṅgataṁ vacaḥ
priyā-sahāyaḥ saritaṁ prati bruvan
cacāra ramyaṁ nayanāñjana-prabhaṁ
sa citrakūṭaṁ raghu-vaṁśa-vardhanaḥ
iti iva = in this manner; rāmaḥ = Rāma; bahu saṅgatam vacaḥ = appropriately and at length; priyā-sahāyaḥ = with His beloved wife; saritam prati = about the river Mandākinī; bruvan = while speaking; cacāra = wandered around; ramyam = the lovely; nayana-añjana-prabham = that had the complexion of collyrium for the eye; saḥ1 citrakūṭam = Citrakūṭa; raghu-vaṁśa-vardhanaḥ = who enhanced the Raghu dynasty.
While speaking appropriately and at length in this manner about the river Mandākinī, Rāma who enhanced the Raghu dynasty wandered with His beloved wife around the lovely Citrakūṭa that had the complexion of collyrium for the eye.
1 Technical note: saḥ rāmaḥ.
1 Lord Rāma’s description of the forest and the river is a reminder to us that the real beauty of human civilization lies in harmoniously living with nature while cultivating spiritual realization, not in exploiting nature, as has been the trend for the past few centuries, in the name of “development.” A life of bhāgavata-dharma in line with varṇāśrama-dharma is naturally ecologically sustainable and helps one to focus on spiritual progress with minimal distraction. This can be be accepted by anyone serious about rapid progress in the process of bhakti-yoga. See Prabhupāda’s elaborate purport on Upadeśāmṛta (2).
Citrakūṭa had the complexion of collyrium for the eye, that is, it was dark like the collyrium.
The author thus states that Rāma was absorbed in His residence in the forest to point out that He had no desire at all to return to the city of Ayodhyā.1