FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 9.11.26

ఆసిక్తమార్గాం గన్ధోదై: కరిణాం మదశీకరై: । స్వామినం ప్రాప్తమాలోక్య మత్తాం వా సుతరామివ ॥ ౨౬ ॥
āsikta-mārgāṁ gandhodaiḥ
[aasikta-maargaam gandhodaih]
kariṇāṁ mada-śīkaraiḥ
[karinaam mada-sheekaraih]
svāminaṁ prāptam ālokya
[svaaminam praaptam aalokya]
mattāṁ vā sutarām iva
[mattaam vaa sutaraam iva]
āsikta-mārgām — the streets were sprinkled gandha-udaiḥ — with perfumed water kariṇām — of elephants mada-śīkaraiḥ — with particles of perfumed liquor svāminam — the master or proprietor prāptam — present ālokya — seeing personally mattām — very opulent vā — either sutarām — highly iva — as if.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
āsikta-mārgāṁ gandhodaiḥ
āsikta-mārgām
the streets were sprinkled
gandha-udaiḥ
with perfumed water
kariṇāṁ mada-śīkaraiḥ
kariṇām
of elephants
mada-śīkaraiḥ
with particles of perfumed liquor
svāminaṁ prāptam ālokya
svāminam
the master or proprietor
prāptam
present
ālokya
seeing personally
mattāṁ vā sutarām iva
mattām
very opulent
vā
either
sutarām
highly
iva
as if.
During the reign of Lord Rāmacandra, the streets of the capital, Ayodhyā, were sprinkled with perfumed water and drops of perfumed liquor, thrown about by elephants from their trunks. When the citizens saw the Lord personally supervising the affairs of the city in such opulence, they appreciated this opulence very much.

We have simply heard about the opulence of Rāma-rājya during the reign of Lord Rāmacandra. Now, here is one example of the opulence of the Lord’s kingdom. The streets of Ayodhyā were not only cleaned but also sprinkled with perfumed water and drops of perfumed liquor, which were distributed by elephants through their trunks. There was no need of sprinkling machines, for the elephant has a natural ability to suck water through its trunk and again throw it out in a shower. We can understand the opulence of the city from this one example: it was actually sprinkled with perfumed water. Moreover, the citizens had the opportunity to see the Lord personally supervising the affairs of the state. He was not a sleeping monarch, as we can understand from His activities in sending His brothers to see to affairs outside the capital and punish anyone who did not obey the emperor’s orders. This is called dig-vijaya. The citizens were all given facilities for peaceful life, and they were also qualified with appropriate attributes according to varṇāśrama. As we have seen from the previous chapter, varṇāśrama-guṇānvitāḥ: the citizens were trained according to the varṇāśrama system. A class of men were brāhmaṇas, a class of men were kṣatriyas, a class were vaiśyas, and a class were śūdras. Without this scientific division, there can be no question of good citizenship. The King, being magnanimous and perfect in His duty, performed many sacrifices and treated the citizens as His sons, and the citizens, being trained in the varṇāśrama system, were obedient and perfectly ordered. The entire monarchy was so opulent and peaceful that the government was even able to sprinkle the street with perfumed water, what to speak of other management. Since the city was sprinkled with perfumed water, we can simply imagine how opulent it was in other respects. Why should the citizens not have felt happy during the reign of Lord Rāmacandra?

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
When the citizens saw the Lord personally on the streets of Ayodhyā which were sprinkled with perfumed water and juice from rutting elephants, they thought that the land had become perfect. This describes the city that Rāma inspected. Sutarām mattām iva means “everything is perfect.” Va indicates a conjecture. Another version has vāsitagām iva: the land was flourishing like a cow in heat.
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