← 2.17.28 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 17: Kausalyā learns of Rāma’s exile · 2.17.30 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.17.29

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 laments that her fasting, gifts, and prayers have brought no relief and wishes she could die rather than lose him.

2.17.29

mamaiva nūnaṃ maraṇaṃ na vidyate na cāvakāśo 'sti yamakṣaye mama
yad antako 'dyaiva na māṃ jihīrṣati prasahya siṃho rudatīṃ mṛgīm iva

Surely for me alone there is no death, nor is there any place for me in Yama's realm, since Death does not this very day carry me off by force, as a lion drags off a wailing doe.

Words: mamaiva — for me alone; nūnaṃ — surely; maraṇaṃ — death; na — not; vidyate — exists; na — nor; cāvakāśo — and (any) place; 'sti — is; yamakṣaye — in Yama's abode; mama — for me; yad — since; antako — Death; 'dyaiva — this very day; na — not; māṃ — me; jihīrṣati — wishes to carry off; prasahya — forcibly; siṃho — a lion; rudatīṃ — wailing; mṛgīm — a doe; iva — like

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.