कच्चिच्चित्यशतैर्जुष्टः सुनिविष्टजनाकुलः।
देवस्थानैः प्रपाभिश्च तटाकैश्चोपशोभितः॥
प्रहृष्टनरनारीकः समाजोत्सवशोभितः।
सुकृष्टसीमा पशुमान्हिंसाभिः परिवर्जितः॥
अदेवमातृको रम्यः श्वापदैः परिवर्जितः।
परित्यक्तो भयैः सर्वैः खनिभिश्चोपशोभितः॥
विवर्जितो नरैः पापैर्मम पूर्वैः सुरक्षितः।
कच्चिज्जनपदः स्फीतः सुखं वसति राघवः॥
kaccic citya-śatair juṣṭaḥ suniviṣṭa-janākulaḥ
deva-sthānaiḥ prapābhiś ca taṭākaiś copaśobhitaḥ
prahṛṣṭa-nara-nārīkaḥ samājotsava-śobhitaḥ
sukṛṣṭa-sīmā paśumān hiṁsābhiḥ parivarjitaḥ
adeva-mātṛko ramyaḥ śvāpadaiḥ parivarjitaḥ
parityakto bhayaiḥ sarvaiḥ khanibhiś copaśobhitaḥ
vivarjito naraiḥ pāpair mama pūrvaiḥ surakṣitaḥ
kaccij janapadaḥ sphītaḥ sukhaṁ vasati rāghavaḥ
kaccit = is it; citya-śataiḥ = with hundreds of plots of land to prepare for great fire sacrifices; juṣṭaḥ = filled; suniviṣṭa-jana-ākulaḥ = is it filled with people who are well established there; deva-sthānaiḥ = with temples; prapābhiḥ = places supplying drinking water by the roads 9; ca = and; taṭākaiḥ ca = large water bodies to increase the production of grains and so on; upaśobhitaḥ = is it; prahṛṣṭa-nara-nārīkaḥ = are its men and women very joyful; samāja-utsava-śobhitaḥ = is it beautified by social festivities; sukṛṣṭa-sīmā = is it bordered by land that has been well ploughed; paśumān = is it enriched with cows, goats and other animals; hiṁsābhiḥ = mutual violence; parivarjitaḥ = is it devoid of; adeva-mātṛkaḥ = is the agricultural land there independent of rain; ramyaḥ = is it pleasant with beautiful gardens and so on; śvāpadaiḥ = wild beasts such as tigers; parivarjitaḥ = is it devoid of; parityaktaḥ = fully warded off there; bhayaiḥ = dangers such as those due to theft; sarvaiḥ = have all kinds of; khanibhiḥ ca = with mines of jewels, gold, silver and so on 10; upaśobhitaḥ = is it adorned; vivarjitaḥ = is it deserted; naraiḥ = people; pāpaiḥ = by sinful; mama = My; pūrvaiḥ = by predecessors; surakṣitaḥ = well protected; kaccit = is; janapadaḥ = country; sphītaḥ = the extensive; sukham vasati = happy; rāghavaḥ = of the Raghus.
Is the extensive country of the Raghus, well protected by My predecessors, happy? Is it filled with hundreds of plots of land to prepare for great fire sacrifices? Is it filled with people who are well established there? Is it graced with temples, places supplying drinking water by the roadside and large water bodies to increase the production of grains and so on? Are its men and women very joyful? Is it beautified by social festivities? Is it bordered by land that has been well ploughed? Is it enriched with cows, goats and other animals? Is it devoid of mutual violence? Is the agricultural land there independent of rain? Is it pleasant with beautiful gardens and so on? Is it devoid of wild beasts such as tigers?1 Have all kinds of dangers such as those due to theft fully warded off there? Is it adorned with mines of jewels, gold, silver and so on? Is it deserted by sinful people?
1 They were meant to be in the forests, not in the countryside. Lord Rāma is inquiring about the state of affairs of the countryside, technically referred to as janapada.
In some manuscripts caitya-śataiḥ appears instead of citya-śataiḥ. In either case, it indicates that the country of the Raghu dynasty had land allocated to prepare for great fire sacrifices, up to the Aśvamedha.
[Rāma wanted to know] if the country was filled with well established people, that is, people whose minds are so attracted to that land because of its good features—good governance, good rains, good health and so on—that they have no desire to leave that country and go elsewhere.
Samājotsava-śobhitaḥ also indicates that [Rāma wanted to know] if the land was beautified by assemblies to clarify and describe Vedic dharma, and [since] samāja also refers to a traders’ shopping complex, [Rāma wanted to know] if there were weekly announcements to the public to facilitate the sales of various items on the banks of rivers, ponds and other water bodies as well as in the forests.
Sukṛṣṭa-sīmā indicates that Rāma wished that there was no land [in the borders of the country] agriculturally uncultivated or only slightly cultivated or that the land in the borders was almost always well ploughed with some land that was useful even when not ploughed.
Hiṁsābhiḥ parivarjitaḥ also indicates that He wished that the country was devoid of the six sources of occasional calamities:
ativṛṣṭir anāvṛṣṭir mūṣikāḥ śalabhāḥ khagāḥ
atyāsannāś ca rājānaḥ ṣaḍ etā ītayaḥ smṛtāḥ
“The six occasional calamities are considered to be excessive rain, drought, a swarm of rats, locusts, birds and attacks from other kings.”
Adeva-mātṛkaḥ. Rāma did not want the land to be exclusively dependent on the devas in the sense that the agricultural land should not be entirely dependent on rains—it was on the bank of the river Sarayū and hence [it could be made] dependent on it 11.
“Have all kinds of dangers such as those due to theft fully warded off there?” indicates that even the land neighboring [the countryside] should be free from the dangers due to thieves and so on.