Opening verse from Valmiki's Ramayana where Vishwamitra wakes Lord Rama with "Kausalya supraja Rama" lines about dawn rituals -
Kausalya supraja Rama purva sandhya pravartate
Uttistha nara sardula kartavyam daivam ahnikam
Full meaning:
“O Rama, noble son of Kausalya! The eastern dawn is breaking. Arise, O lion among men! The daily sacred rituals must be performed.”
Word-by-word explanation of the verse
- Kausalya – Of Kausalya (Rama’s mother)
- Supraja – Having an excellent / noble / fortunate son
- Rama – O Rama → Together: “O Rama, the noble son of Kausalya” (or “Fortunate is Kausalya to have you as her son, O Rama”)
- Purva – Eastern / of the east
- Sandhya – Twilight / dawn (the junction of night and day)
- Pravartate – Is beginning / is occurring / is arising → “The eastern dawn is breaking.”
- Uttistha – Arise / get up / wake up
- Nara – Man / human being
- Sardula (Śārdūla) – Tiger / lion → Nara-sardula = “O tiger among men” or “O lion among men” (a common Sanskrit expression meaning the best or most heroic of men).
In standard Sanskrit dictionaries (such as Apte and Monier-Williams), the first and main meaning of śārdūla is tiger. It can occasionally also refer to a lion, panther, or leopard, but tiger is the primary sense. The usual Sanskrit word for lion is siṃha (सिंह).
In the compound nara-śārdūla (“nara sardula”), it means “tiger among men” — a common poetic way of saying “the best/greatest/hero among men.”Many English translations of the Ramayana and Suprabhatam render it as “lion among men” because that is a more familiar English idiom for a powerful or heroic person. However, the literal meaning of the Sanskrit word is closer to tiger. - Kartavyam – Duty / that which ought to be done / what must be performed
- Daivam – Divine / sacred / related to the gods
- Ahnikam – Daily / of the day (from ahan = day) → “The daily divine duties / morning rituals must be performed.”