← 2.38.19 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 38: Kausalyā imagines Rāma’s return

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.38.20

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: she says she cannot endure life without him.

2.38.20

ayaṃ hi māṃ dīpayate samutthitas tanūjaśokaprabhavo hutāśanaḥ
mahīm imāṃ raśmibhir uttamaprabho yathā nidāghe bhagavān divākaraḥ

For this fire of grief, arisen and born of sorrow for my son, scorches me, as in the hot season the blessed sun of supreme radiance scorches this earth with its rays.

Words: ayaṃ — this; hi — for, indeed; māṃ — me; dīpayate — burns, scorches; samutthitas — arisen, sprung up; tanūjaśokaprabhavo — having its source in grief for a son; hutāśanaḥ — the fire (oblation-eater); mahīm — the earth; imāṃ — this; raśmibhir — with its rays; uttamaprabho — of supreme radiance; yathā — as, just as; nidāghe — in the hot season; bhagavān — the blessed, divine; divākaraḥ — the sun (day-maker)

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.