← 2.21.8 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 21: Rāma asks Kausalyā to remain with Daśaratha · 2.21.10 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.21.9

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 21: Rāma asks Kausalyā to remain with Daśaratha. Kausalyā asks to follow Rāma, he persuades her to remain and care for the grieving Daśaratha

In the sequence: he asks her to remain and care for her husband

2.21.9

bhartuḥ kila parityāgo nṛśaṃsaḥ kevalaṃ striyāḥ
sa bhavatyā na kartavyo manasāpi vigarhitaḥ

The abandonment of a husband by a woman is indeed utterly cruel and blameworthy; that must not be done by you, not even in thought.

Words: bhartuḥ — of a husband; kila — indeed; parityāgo — abandonment; nṛśaṃsaḥ — cruel; kevalaṃ — utterly, merely; striyāḥ — of/by a woman; sa — that; bhavatyā — by you; na — not; kartavyo — to be done; manasāpi — even in thought; vigarhitaḥ — condemned, blameworthy

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.