← 2.17.7 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 17: Kausalyā learns of Rāma’s exile · 2.17.9 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.17.8

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: Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa enter Kausalyā's apartments, where she has been praying and making offerings for his welfare

2.17.8

praviśya ca tadā rāmo mātur antaḥpuraṃ śubham
dadarśa mātaraṃ tatra hāvayantīṃ hutāśanam

Entering then his mother's fair apartments, Rāma saw his mother there making the fire-offering.

Words: praviśya — having entered; ca — and; tadā — then; rāmo — Rāma; mātur — of (his) mother; antaḥpuraṃ — the apartments; śubham — fair, auspicious; dadarśa — saw; mātaraṃ — (his) mother; tatra — there; hāvayantīṃ — offering, causing (oblation) to be made; hutāśanam — the fire (the oblation-eater)

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.