RAMAYANA FOR CHILDREN
CHAPTER
5
AYODHYA
Manu was the Divine Ruler. He was a mighty king belonging to
the Ikshavaku dynasty. He was ruling the world containing seven islands. Of this
race came king Sagara. He had sixty thousand sons. By his command, they dug the
ocean. This divine epic Ramayana sings the lives and deeds of those men of old.
The reader of this epic have four Aims of Life: righteousness, Wealth,
Happiness and Liberation. So it benefits those who lend ear to the recitation
of this epic, or , in the present context, who read and cherish the epic and
try to follow the principles portrayed in it.
The land of Kosala is situated on both the banks of the
river, Sarayu. The land was rich in wealth of flocks and herds. There were
fertile fields and broad pastures. There were millions of people. The capital
of this land was Ayodhya. Divine Manu’s hand had a sway over it and made it a
blessed place to live. There were well-watered and fertile groves and broad
fields. There were excellent roads. They were lined with trees. The roads
connected the capital with ever part of the world. There were lofty walls. They
measured 12 leagues from end to end and three from side to side. The ramparts
were high and massive. They were lined with guns and every killing machine. There
were various devices lining the massive ramparts. And all around them were
moats. And they were wide and deep. The city had large and strong gates. They were
of exquisite workmanship. The very name of the capital Ayodhya stood for
impregnable fortifications.
The high roads were planned perfectly. They lead up to the very gates of the city. They
were kept clean and well-watered. And they were strewn with fragrant flowers. The
royal homes graced the centre of the town. The roads were laid out in perfect
squares. They branched off the royal homes. The merchant quarters were adorned
with palatial shops. They were stored with the rarest works of nature and art.
There were charming villas and pleasure grounds atop the
hills. The splendid mansions flashed with gold and gems. They were situated in
good rows. The towering hoses had waving flags and banners over the roofs. They
had been built on lofty platforms. Those with religious merits had aerial cars
blessed by the celestials. The aerial cars were radiant. They were the abodes
of gods won through sheer religious merit.
The capital was rich in horses and elephants, sheep and
oxen, mules and camels. Sweet sounds of lutes and or flute, drum or tabret,
fife or clarion, Vina or Sitar. It was
the happy home of bards and minstrels, poets and genealogists, sculptors and
architects. And on the streets one would be jostled at every step the teachers
of the art of dance and song. You would meet the envoys of foreign countries
and princes of tributary lands. Princely merchants from far off lands came to
Ayodhya. They came to buy and sell. There were great exponents of arts, lay and
fine.
And Brahmanas graced the city; they were straight of speech
and pure of heart. They were profoundly versed in the sacred lore. They ever
tended the Fires and kept the observances. In self-restraint and holy fervour
they ranked with the saintly Vasishtha and the like.
Great car warriors and god-like heroes were there. They were
skilled in every art of war and chase. They kept the city safe from the foe. They
were armed with human and divine weapons. They had great mastery over them. They
never struck the solitary foeman or the flying one. They never attacked anyone
from behind. Nor did they harm the only scion of his race.
And, over this best city reigned the King Dasaratha. He ruled
the nation even like an Indra, the king of the Regions of the Gods!
