Shloka 16
रावणोत्पत्तिः—तपसा वरलाभश्च
Rāvaṇa’s Origins and the Acquisition of Boons
ते यात्वानुसृतैर्मार्ग: स्वन्ने: शुचिजलान्वितै: । ददृशु: काम्यकं पुण्यमाश्रमं तापसायुतम्,वे सब लोग उत्तम अन्न और पवित्र जलकी सुविधासे सम्पन्न तथा सदा चालू रहनेवाले मार्गोंसे यात्रा करते हुए पुण्य एवं बहुतेरे तपस्वी जनोंसे युक्त काम्यक वनके आश्रममें पहुँचकर वहाँकी शोभा देखने लगे
te yātvānusṛtair mārgaḥ svannaiḥ śucijalānvitaiḥ | dadṛśuḥ kāmyakaṃ puṇyam āśramaṃ tāpasāyutam ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Traveling along well-trodden routes that were continually supplied with good food and pure water, they reached the holy Kāmyaka forest hermitage, inhabited by many ascetics, and began to behold its beauty.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the sanctity of ascetic spaces and the dharmic ideal of sustaining travelers—good provisions and pure water on established routes—suggesting that righteous living includes supporting pilgrimage, refuge, and the life of tapas.
The group journeys by well-used routes with reliable access to food and clean water, arrives at the sacred hermitage in the Kāmyaka forest populated by many ascetics, and then observes the beauty and auspiciousness of the place.