तथा भृत्यैरमात्यैश्च पञ्जरस्थैश्च पक्षिभिः । क्रीडामृगैर्गतस्पन्दैस्तुरङ्गैस्त्यक्तचर्वणैः ॥ ७ ॥
tathā bhṛtyairamātyaiśca pañjarasthaiśca pakṣibhiḥ | krīḍāmṛgairgataspandaisturaṅgaistyaktacarvaṇaiḥ || 7 ||
Translation
by servants and courtiers, and by the birds in their cages; by the pet deer, which had stopped moving, and by the horses, which had stopped chewing;
Word by word
- tathā
- and
- bhṛtyair
- (bhṛtyaiḥ) by servants
- amātyaiś
- (amātyaiḥ) and courtiers
- ca
- and
- pañjarasthaiś
- (pañjarasthaiḥ) in their cages
- pakṣibhiḥ
- by the birds
- krīḍā
- pet
- mṛgair
- (mṛgaiḥ) by the deer
- gata
- which had stopped
- spandais
- (spandaiḥ) moving
- turaṅgais
- (turaṅgaiḥ) by the horses
- tyakta
- which had stopped
- carvaṇaiḥ
- chewing
Meaning
Now the animals, and the verse becomes tender. The caged birds fall silent; the tame deer kept for pleasure (krīḍā-mṛga) stand still; the horses stop chewing their fodder. The commentary simply lists them. The image is old in Indian poetry: when a great truth is spoken, all creatures listen. It is also, quietly, an argument: what Rāma said is not a matter of opinion but of the nature of life, and every living thing knows its share of it. The caged bird has something to say about bondage. The reader may notice the moments when even the restless parts of themselves fall still to listen.