← 2.20.18 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 20: Lakṣmaṇa opposes fate with effort · 2.20.20 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.20.19

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 20: Lakṣmaṇa opposes fate with effort. He offers to overcome every obstacle by force, Rāma wipes away his tears but remains bound to the promise

In the sequence: he proposes sending the plotters into exile instead and preventing Bharata's accession

2.20.19

madbalena viruddhāya na syād daivabalaṃ tathā
prabhaviṣyati duḥkhāya yathograṃ pauruṣaṃ mama

Against him whom my strength opposes, the power of fate would not so avail to bring suffering as my fierce manhood shall avail.

Words: madbalena — by my strength; viruddhāya — to the one opposed; na — not; syād — would be; daivabalaṃ — the power of fate; tathā — so; prabhaviṣyati — will avail, prevail; duḥkhāya — for suffering; yathograṃ — as the fierce; pauruṣaṃ — manhood, valour; mama — my

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.