जीवन्मुक्तिपदं प्राप्तो यथा रामो महामतिः । तत्तेऽहं शृणु वक्ष्यामि जरामरणशान्तये ॥ १६ ॥
jīvanmuktipadaṁ prāptō yathā rāmō mahāmatiḥ | tattē’haṁ śṛṇu vakṣyāmi jarāmaraṇaśāntayē || 16 ||
Translation
How Rāma, great of mind, reached the state of liberation while living: that I shall tell you. Listen, for the ending of old age and death.
Word by word
- jīvanmukti
- of liberation while living
- padaṁ
- the state
- prāptō
- (prāptaḥ) reached
- yathā
- how
- rāmō
- (rāmaḥ) Rāma
- mahāmatiḥ
- great of mind
- tat
- that
- tē
- to you
- ahaṁ
- I
- śṛṇu
- listen
- vakṣyāmi
- shall tell
- jarā
- of old age
- maraṇa
- and death
- śāntayē
- for the ending
Meaning
Having said what liberation while living is, Vālmīki turns to the story that shows it. "Old age and death" stand for the whole round of birth; hearing the story with understanding is offered as the way out of it.