अथ गच्छति काले तु पालयत्यवनिं नृपे । प्रजासु वीतशोकासु स्थितासु विगतज्वरम् ॥ १९ ॥
atha gacchati kālē tu pālayatyavaniṁ nṛpē | prajāsu vītaśōkāsu sthitāsu vigatajvaram || 19 ||
Translation
Then, as time went on, while the king ruled the earth and his people lived free of sorrow and of every distress,
Word by word
- atha
- then
- gacchati
- went on
- kālē
- as time
- tu
- and
- pālayati
- ruled
- avaniṁ
- the earth
- nṛpē
- while the king
- prajāsu
- his people
- vīta
- free of
- śōkāsu
- sorrow
- sthitāsu
- lived
- vigata
- free of
- jvaram
- every distress
Meaning
The commentary notes the word "distress" (jvara, literally fever): under Daśaratha's rule the people were spared even illness, let alone fear or untimely death. The kingdom is at peace, so Rāma's later turning away from the world cannot be put down to misfortune.