← 2.4.26 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 4: Omens hasten the abhiṣeka · 2.4.28 →
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.4.27
Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 4: Omens hasten the abhiṣeka. Daśaratha fixes the ceremony for the next day while Bharata is away, Rāma & Sītā must fast and sleep on darbha
In the sequence: he tells Rāma and Sītā to upavāsa, sleep on darbha grass, and have trusted friends guard them that night → he also wants to act while Bharata is away: although he trusts Bharata's character, he says that people's minds can change.
2.4.27
kiṃ tu cittaṃ manuṣyāṇām anityam iti me matiḥ
satāṃ ca dharmanityānāṃ kṛtaśobhi ca rāghava
yet the mind of men is unsteady — such is my conviction — even among the good who are ever devoted to dharma; and (a thing done in season) shines by being done, O Rāghava.
Words: kiṃ tu — yet, however; cittaṃ — the mind; manuṣyāṇām — of men; anityam — impermanent, unsteady; iti — thus; me — my; matiḥ — conviction, opinion; satāṃ ca — and of the good; dharmanityānāṃ — ever devoted to dharma; kṛtaśobhi — shining by being done, beautified by action; ca — and; rāghava — O Rāghava
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.