ततः सदाचारपरो भूत्वाऽहं मुनिनायक । विहृतस्तीर्थयात्रार्थमुर्वीमम्बुधिमेखलाम् ॥ ४ ॥
tataḥ sadācāraparō bhūtvā’haṁ munināyaka | vihṛtastīrthayātrārthamurvīmambudhimēkhalām || 4 ||
Translation
Then, devoted to right conduct, chief of sages, I travelled for pilgrimage over the earth girdled by the oceans.
Word by word
- tataḥ
- then
- sat
- right
- ācāra
- conduct
- parō
- (paraḥ) devoted to
- bhūtvā
- being
- ahaṁ
- I
- muni
- of sages
- nāyaka
- chief
- vihṛtas
- (vihṛtaḥ) travelled
- tīrtha
- to the holy places
- yātrā
- journey
- artham
- for
- urvīm
- the earth
- ambudhi
- by the oceans
- mēkhalām
- girdled
Meaning
Right conduct (sadācāra) and pilgrimage are the best a young life can hold: duty done and holy places seen. The commentary has said why they matter (1.3.20): they purify the mind. Rāma did all that a good life asks, and it was precisely then, with nothing wrong, that the question arose.