न रामेण समोऽस्तीह दृष्टो लोकेषु कश्चन । विवेकवानुदारात्मा न भावी चेति नो मतिः ॥ ४५ ॥
na rāmēṇa samō’stīha dṛṣṭō lōkēṣu kaścana | vivēkavānudārātmā na bhāvī cēti nō matiḥ || 45 ||
Translation
"No one equal to Rāma has been seen here in the worlds, so discerning and noble of soul, nor will there be: that is our view."
Word by word
- na
- no
- rāmēṇa
- to Rāma
- samō
- (samaḥ) one equal
- asti
- has been
- iha
- here
- dṛṣṭō
- (dṛṣṭaḥ) seen
- lōkēṣu
- in the worlds
- kaścana
- anyone
- vivēkavān
- so discerning
- udārātmā
- and noble of soul
- bhāvī
- will there be
- ca
- and
- iti
- that
- nō
- (naḥ) our
- matiḥ
- is view
Meaning
The highest praise, in the conventional form of the epics: there has been no one like him and there will be none. The commentary simply repeats it. One may hear it as hyperbole, and it is; it is also the sages' way of saying that what Rāma has done, asking with complete honesty at the very start of life, is as rare as anything can be. The reader need not be Rāma to share in the praise: whatever in them asks as he asked is honoured with him.