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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.17.23

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

2.17.23

sā bahūny amanojñāni vākyāni hṛdayacchidām
ahaṃ śroṣye sapatnīnām avarāṇāṃ varā satī
ato duḥkhataraṃ kiṃ nu pramadānāṃ bhaviṣyati

I, though the foremost of the queens, shall now hear many unpleasant, heart-piercing words from co-wives who are my inferiors; what greater sorrow than this can there be for women?

Words: sā — she (who am I); bahūny — many; amanojñāni — unpleasant; vākyāni — words; hṛdayacchidām — heart-piercing; ahaṃ — I; śroṣye — I shall hear; sapatnīnām — of (my) co-wives; avarāṇāṃ — of the inferior (ones); varā — the foremost; satī — being; ato — than this; duḥkhataraṃ — greater sorrow; kiṃ — what; nu — indeed; pramadānāṃ — for women; bhaviṣyati — will be

Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki, the ādikavi of the ādikāvya: the first poet of the first poem. 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.