Canto 3 -
Araṇya-kāṇḍa
Chapter 11: Rāma Goes to Agastya’s Āśrama
Text 3.11.12
इदं पञ्चाप्सरो नाम तटाकं सार्वकालिकम्।
निर्मितं तपसा राम मुनिना माण्डकर्णिना॥
idaṁ pañcāpsaro nāma taṭākaṁ sārvakālikam
nirmitaṁ tapasā rāma muninā māṇḍakarṇinā
idam = this; pañca-apsaraḥ = Pañcapsarā; nāma = named; taṭākam = lake; sārvakālikam = eternal; nirmitam = was created; tapasā = using his ascetic power; rāma = Rāma; muninā = by the sage; māṇḍakarṇinā = Māṇḍakarṇi.
Rāma, this eternal lake named Pañcapsarā was created by the sage Māṇḍakarṇi using his ascetic power.
1 Rāmāyaṇa-bhūṣaṇa: sārvakālikaṁ sarva-kāle bhavam. “kālāṭ ṭhañ,” ubhaya-pada-vṛddhiḥ. sarvasminn api kāle aśuṣyad ity arthaḥ.
The lake was named Pañcapsarā because it was meant for the sporting of five apsarās. The lake was eternal in the sense that it would never dry up.1
The sage speaks about Māṇḍakarṇi’s history in the next verse.