स राघवः सत्यधृतिश्च लक्ष्मणो महानुभावो भरतश्च धार्मिकः।
वृताः सुहृद्भिश्च विरेजुरध्वरे यथा सदस्यैः सहितास्त्रयोऽग्नयः॥
sa rāghavaḥ satya-dhṛtiś ca lakṣmaṇo
mahānubhāvo bharataś ca dhārmikaḥ
vṛtāḥ suhṛdbhiś ca virejur adhvare
yathā sadasyaiḥ sahitās trayo ’gnayaḥ
saḥ rāghavaḥ = Rāghava; satya-dhṛtiḥ ca = was firmly fixed in truthfulness; lakṣmaṇaḥ = Lakṣmaṇa; mahā-anubhāvaḥ = was greatly experienced; bharataḥ = Bharata; ca = and; dhārmikaḥ = was devoted to dharma; vṛtāḥ = surrounded; suhṛdbhiḥ ca = by Their well-wishers; virejuḥ = They shone; adhvare = in a sacrifice; yathā = like; sadasyaiḥ = by sacrificial priests; sahitāḥ = with; trayaḥ = the three; agnayaḥ = sacred fires.
Rāghava was firmly fixed in truthfulness, Lakṣmaṇa was greatly experienced and Bharata was devoted to dharma. Surrounded by Their well-wishers, They shone like the three sacred fires in a sacrifice with sacrificial priests.1
[1] kevalaṁ niścite klībe vācyavat tv eka-kṛtsnayoḥ (Vaijayantī).
[2] apiḥ sambhāvanā-praśna-garhāśaṅkā-samuccaye (Vaijayantī).
[3] yuktaṁ syād ucitaṁ nyāyyaṁ prāptam aupayikaṁ tathā (Halāyudha).
[4] aviratam anavarataṁ syād ekārtham anāratam asaktam api (Halāyudha).
1 The three sacred fires are the āhavanīya, gārhapatya and dākṣinātya. For a basic understanding about them, see the footnote to text 2.76.13.
GLOSS. Śatrughna has not been referred to here because He and Lakṣmaṇa were born from the same mother.