← 2.33.18 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 33: Bark garments over Sītā’s silk

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.33.19

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 33: Bark garments over Sītā’s silk. Rāma declines royal provisions and helps Sītā fasten her bark clothing, Daśaratha protests her humiliation

In the sequence: Rāma asks his father to take special care of Kausalyā so that grief does not destroy her.

2.33.19

imāṃ mahendropamajātagarbhiṇīṃ tathā vidhātuṃ janamīṃ mamārhasi
yathā vanasthe mayi śokakarśitā na jīvitaṃ nyasya yamakṣayaṃ vrajet

You ought so to care for this my mother, who bore a son like great Indra, that, worn away by grief while I dwell in the forest, she may not lay down her life and pass to the realm of Yama.

Words: imāṃ — this, her; mahendropamajātagarbhiṇīṃ — who bore an offspring like great Indra; tathā — so, in such a way; vidhātuṃ — to treat, provide for; janamīṃ — mother; mamārhasi — you ought (for) my (mother); yathā — so that; vanasthe — when (I am) in the forest; mayi — in me, regarding me; śokakarśitā — emaciated by grief; na — not; jīvitaṃ — life; nyasya — having laid down, given up; yamakṣayaṃ — to the abode of Yama; vrajet — should go, pass

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.