← 2.20.3 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 20: Lakṣmaṇa opposes fate with effort · 2.20.5 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.20.4

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: Lakṣmaṇa struggles with grief and anger

2.20.4

agrahas taṃ vidhunvaṃs tu hastī hastam ivātmanaḥ
tiryag ūrdhvaṃ śarīre ca pātayitvā śirodharām

Tossing his forearm as an elephant tosses its own trunk, and throwing his neck aslant and upward upon his body,

Words: agrahas — the forearm, fore-limb; taṃ — it; vidhunvaṃs — shaking, tossing; tu — and; hastī — an elephant; hastam — the trunk, hand; ivātmanaḥ — as its own; tiryag — aslant, sideways; ūrdhvaṃ — upward; śarīre — on his body; ca — and; pātayitvā — having thrown, cast down; śirodharām — his neck

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.