Shloka 7
सीता-रावण-संवादः
Sītā–Rāvaṇa Dialogue in the Aśoka Grove
महता परिबर्हेण राजयोग्येन संवृतः । राजभिर्बहुभि: सार्धमुपायात् काम्यकं च सः,उसी समय सिंधुदेशका महायशस्वी राजा जयद्रथ, जो वृद्धक्षत्रका पुत्र था, विवाहकी इच्छासे शाल्वदेशकी ओर जा रहा था। वह बहुमूल्य राजोचित ठाट-बाटसे सुसज्जित था। अनेक राजाओंके साथ यात्रा करता हुआ वह काम्यकवनमें आ पहुँचा
mahātā paribarheṇa rājayogyena saṃvṛtaḥ | rājabhir bahubhiḥ sārdham upāyāt kāmyakaṃ ca saḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Surrounded by a great and kingly retinue, he arrived at Kāmyaka—traveling together with many kings. The scene underscores royal ambition and worldly desire: a powerful ruler, adorned with costly splendor and supported by allied princes, enters the forest space that will soon become the setting for morally charged events.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how royal power and desire move with visible grandeur—retinues, allies, and display—yet such worldly momentum enters the forest, a space often associated with restraint and dharma. It foreshadows ethical tension between desire-driven action and the moral order that the forest setting evokes.
The narrator states that a certain king (implied by context) arrives at Kāmyaka forest accompanied by many other kings, surrounded by a large, royal entourage. This sets the stage for subsequent events in Kāmyaka.