128 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 9, Ch. 11
person according to his capacity. One who abides by the order of the Lord
is a pure devotee.
TEXT 26
SMRTRMI Tea: BATT Aaa: |
fed ATAATNAT AT AT TATA NRE
dsikta-margam gandhodaih
karinam mada-sikaraih
svdminam praptam dlokya
mattam vd sutardm iva

dGsikta-margam—the streets were sprinkled; gandha-udaih—with
perfumed water; karindm—of elephants; mada-sikaraih—with parti-
cles of perfumed liquor; svéminam—the master or proprietor; prdptam
—present; dlokya—seeing personally; mattam—very opulent; va—
either; sutaram—highly; iva —as if.

TRANSLATION

During the reign of Lord Ramacandra, the streets of the capital,
Ayodhya, were sprinkled with perfumed water and drops of per-
fumed 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.

PURPORT

We have simply heard about the opulence of Rama-rajya during the
reign of Lord Ramacandra. Now, here is one example of the opulence of
the Lord’s kingdom. The streets of Ayodhya 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 ac-
tually sprinkled with perfumed water. Moreover, the citizens had the op-
portunity to see the Lord personally supervising the affairs of the state.
