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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.17.20

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 17: Kausalyā learns of Rāma’s exile. Rāma tells Kausalyā that Bharata will inherit and he must leave, she collapses and laments their separation

In the sequence: she explains that she had endured neglect as a wife by hoping for happiness through her son, but now fears humiliation and isolation among her co-wives

2.17.20

yadi putra na jāyethā mama śokāya rāghava
na sma duḥkham ato bhūyaḥ paśyeyam aham aprajā

If, my son Rāghava, you had not been born to my sorrow, I, though childless, would not have seen a grief greater than this.

Words: yadi — if; putra — O son; na — not; jāyethā — you had been born; mama — to my; śokāya — for sorrow; rāghava — O Rāghava; na sma — not (would); duḥkham — grief; ato — than this; bhūyaḥ — greater, more; paśyeyam — I would see; aham — I; aprajā — childless

Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki. Sanskrit: The Vālmīki-Rāmāyaṇa: Critical Edition, Oriental Institute, Baroda, 1960–1975 (gen. eds. G. H. Bhatt, U. P. Shah); IAST from GRETIL (Göttingen). Translation and word glosses: Claude Opus 4.6–4.7; summaries and sequences: ChatGPT Astra (machine-made). Numbering follows the Critical Edition, not the vulgate (e.g. Gita Press, valmikiramayan.net), so sarga and verse numbers can differ from those editions.