नानामृगगणाकीर्णं शार्दूलवृकसेवितम्।
ध्वस्तवृक्षलतागुल्मं दुर्दर्शसलिलाशयम्॥
निष्कूजनानाशकुनिझिल्लिकागणनादितम्।
लक्ष्मणानुगतो रामो वनमध्यं ददर्श ह॥
nānā-mṛga-gaṇākīrṇaṁ śārdūla-vṛka-sevitam
dhvasta-vṛkṣa-latā-gulmaṁ durdarśa-salilāśayam
niṣkūja-nānā-śakuni jhillikā-gaṇa-nāditam
lakṣmaṇānugato rāmo vana-madhyaṁ dadarśa ha
nānā-mṛga-gaṇa-ākīrṇam = it was crowded with several deer; śārdūla-vṛka-sevitam = and resorted to by tigers and wolves; dhvasta-vṛkṣa-latā-gulmam = the trees, creepers and shrubs there had been destroyed; durdarśa-salila-āśayam = waterbodies were not to be seen there; niṣkūja-nānā-śakuni = there was no sound from the several birds there; jhillikā-gaṇa-nāditam = but it was filled with the sound of crickets; lakṣmaṇa-anugataḥ = followed by Lakṣmaṇa; rāmaḥ = Rāma; vana-madhyam = the middle of the forest; dadarśa ha = noticed.
Followed by Lakṣmaṇa, Rāma noticed the middle of the forest. It was crowded with several deer and resorted to by tigers and wolves. The trees, creepers and shrubs there had been destroyed. Waterbodies were not to be seen there. There was no sound from the several birds there but it was filled with the sound of crickets.
1 Technical note: jhillikā-gaṇa-nāditam ity anena jhillikā-śabdasya rākṣasa-priyatvaṁ sūcitam.
2 The Kurus are technically those who have descended from King Kuru. Though the Kauravas and the Pāṇḍavas have descended from King Kuru, because the latter were extraordinary in many ways, they were referred to as the Pāṇḍavas while the former were referred to as the Kauravas or the Kurus. Similarly, here, the middle of the forest was resorted to by especially ferocious beasts such as tigers and wolves, and crowded by other forest beasts.
It is implied that the trees, creepers and shrubs had been destroyed because of having come in contact with the large and hard body of Virādha. It is also implied that though a bird would soar high, it would become silent out of fear of Virādha.1
GLOSS. By “the maxim of the Kurus and the Pāṇḍavas,” it is possible [to state] that the middle of the forest was crowded by several beasts and resorted to by tigers and wolves.2 The waterbodies were not to be seen there because [they were] very deep.