Raghuvamsha Sarga 1 | Shloka 13

The next few verses describe dileepa and the way he ruled. These provide a lot of insights into how kings ruled back in ancient times.

व्यूढोरसको वृषस्कन्धः शालप्रांशुर्महाभुजः |

आत्मकर्मक्षमं देहं क्षात्रो धर्म इवाश्रितः ||

vyūḍhorasko vṛṣaskandhaḥ śālaprāṁśurmahābhujaḥ |
ātmakarmakṣamaṁ dehaṁ kṣātro dharma ivāśritaḥ ||

shaala tree (shorea robusta)

King Dileepa had a physique that suited his valorous deeds with a broad chest, long powerful arms, and was tall like a saala tree appearing like a personification of kshatriya dharma. (rough translation: warrior ethics)

ದಿಲೀಪನು ತನ್ನ ಪರಾಕ್ರಮಕ್ಕೆ ತಕ್ಕ, ವಿಶಾಲವಾದ ಎದೆಯುಳ್ಳ, ಮಹಾಭುಜಗಳುಳ್ಳ, ಶಾಲ ವೃಕ್ಷದಂತೆ ಉದ್ದನೆಯ ದೇಹವನ್ನು ಕ್ಷಾತ್ರ ಧರ್ಮದ ಸಾಕ್ಷಾತ್ ಸ್ವರೂಪವಾಗಿದ್ದನು. 

चौड़ी छाती वाले, वृष के समान उन्नत कंधों वाले, शाल के समान बड़ी बड़ी भुजाओं वाले राजा दिलीप अपने कार्यों में सक्षम और कुशल थे, मानो वह स्वयम् क्षत्रियधर्म का मानुषी रूप हों |

Raghuvamsha | Sarga 1 Shloka 12

Moving on,

तदन्वये शुद्धिमति प्रसूतःशुद्धिमत्तरः|

दिलीप इति राजेन्दुरिन्दुः क्षीरनिधाविव ||

                     tadanvaye śuddhimati prasūtaḥ śuddhimattaraḥ |
                         dilīpa iti rājendurinduḥ kṣīranidhāviva || 

In this unblemished dynasty, a king named dileepa who was equally blemishless was born similar to the rise of the moon from the milky ocean. 

ಈ ಪರಿಶುದ್ಧವಾದ ವಂಶದಲ್ಲಿ ಪರಿಶುದ್ಧ ರಾಜನಾದ ದಿಲೀಪನು, ಕ್ಷೀರಸಾಗರದಿಂದ ಜನಿಸಿದ ಚಂದ್ರನಂತೆ ಜನಿಸಿದನು. 

वैवस्वत मनु के पवित्र वंश में दिलीप नामक अतिपवित्र नृपश्रेष्ठ का जन्म हुआ जिस प्रकार क्षीरसागर में से चन्द्रमा ने।

some thoughts:

- I really like the metaphor in this verse. This is a reference to the birth of moon during the samudra manthana by devas and asuras. The very word indu means bright or illustrious. The moon is also a symbol of purity. 

Raghuvamsha Sarga 1 | Shloka 11

And so, today we begin the story!

वैवस्वतो मनुर्नाम माननीयो मनीषिणाम् | 

आसीन्महीक्षितामाद्यः प्रणवश्छन्दसामिव ||

vaivasvato manurnāma mānanīyo manīṣiṇām |
āsīnmahīkṣitāmādyaḥ praṇavaśchandasāmiva ||

There lived Manu [ आसीत् वैवस्वतो नाम मनुः] who was the son of the sun and who was respected by the wise [मनीषिणाम् माननीयः]. He was the first of kings [महीक्षिताम् आद्यः] similar to the sound 'aum' which comes at the start of all mantras / vedas.  

ಸೂರ್ಯನ ಮಗನಾದ ಮನು ಜ್ಞಾನಿಗಳ ಮನ್ನಣೆಗೆ ಪಾತ್ರನಾಗಿದ್ದನು. ಹೇಗೆ ಮಂತ್ರಗಳ ಪ್ರಾರಂಭದಲ್ಲಿ ಓಂಕಾರವು ಬರುತ್ತದೋ ಹಾಗೆಯೇ ಭೂಮಿಯನ್ನಾಳಿದ ರಾಜರಲ್ಲಿ ಮನುವು ಮೊದಲಿಗನು.

जैसे ओंकार सभी वेदों में प्रथम मन्त्र है, विद्वान् श्रोत्रियों द्वारा पूजित प्रथम छन्दस् है वैसे ही विद्वान् मनीषियों द्वारा पूजित वैवस्वत नाम के मनु सर्वप्रथम राजा हुए।

Some thoughts:

- Again this verse has a very beautiful metaphor in it. All mantras start from 'aum'. Similarly, the lineage of kings (and man) started from this Manu. The etymology of the word man is attributed to manu. 

- He is the reason why the dynasty is called the solar dynasty or 'soorya vamsha' 

- Manu is a 'post' and not a name. The current manu is 'vaivsvata' manu. The time interval from one manu to another is known as manvantara. This period corresponds to 306,720,000 years! Vaivasvata-manu who is under consideration now is the 7th manu since creation! The manu smriti is attributed to the first manu - Svayambhuva. It is interesting to note the huge time-scales that were prevalent right from the time of vedas!