Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 38: Kausalyā imagines Rāma’s return · 2.38.2 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.38.1

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 38: Kausalyā imagines Rāma’s return. Fearing Kaikeyī and the hardships facing Rāma, Sītā & Lakṣmaṇa, she longs for her son’s homecoming and embrace

In the sequence: Kausalyā tells Daśaratha that Kaikeyī has gained her wish and will now be free to intimidate her

2.38.1

tataḥ samīkṣya śayane sannaṃ śokena pārthivam
kausalyā putraśokārtā tam uvāca mahīpatim

Then, seeing the king sunk upon the couch with grief, Kausalyā, herself stricken with sorrow for her son, said to that lord of the earth:

Words: tataḥ — then; samīkṣya — having beheld; śayane — on the couch; sannaṃ — sunken, worn down; śokena — with grief; pārthivam — the king; kausalyā — Kausalyā; putraśokārtā — stricken with grief for her son; tam — him; uvāca — said to; mahīpatim — lord of the earth (king)

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.