← 2.53.25 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 53: Daśaratha’s remorse

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.53.26

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 53: Daśaratha’s remorse. Sumantra describes the horses’ reluctance and the country’s grief, Daśaratha regrets his uncounselled decision and begs to see Rāma

In the sequence: saying that he will die without another sight of him, he calls for all three travelers and faints again → Kausalyā watches in fear.

2.53.26

iti vilapati pārthive pranaṣṭe karuṇataraṃ dviguṇaṃ ca rāmahetoḥ
vacanam anuniśamya tasya devī bhayam agamat punar eva rāmamātā

As the king, sinking away, lamented thus—all the more piteously and doubly for Rāma's sake—hearing his words the queen, Rāma's mother, was again seized with fear.

Words: iti — thus; vilapati — lamenting (loc. abs.); pārthive — the king (loc. abs.); pranaṣṭe — sinking away, fainting (loc. abs.); karuṇataraṃ — more piteously; dviguṇaṃ — doubly, twofold; ca — and; rāmahetoḥ — for Rāma's sake; vacanam — the words; anuniśamya — having heard, listened to; tasya — his; devī — the queen; bhayam — fear; agamat — went to, was seized by; punar — again; eva — very, indeed; rāmamātā — Rāma's mother

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.