← 2.56.11 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 56: Kausalyā & Daśaratha reconcile · 2.56.13 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.56.12

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 56: Kausalyā & Daśaratha reconcile. He begs her to stop deepening his pain, she apologizes and says five nights of separation have felt like five years

In the sequence: she reflects that grief destroys judgment and endurance

2.56.12

śoko nāśayate dhairyaṃ śoko nāśayate śrutam
śoko nāśayate sarvaṃ nāsti śokasamo ripuḥ

Grief destroys firmness; grief destroys learning; grief destroys everything—there is no enemy like grief.

Words: śoko — grief; nāśayate — destroys; dhairyaṃ — firmness; śoko — grief; nāśayate — destroys; śrutam — learning, sacred lore; śoko — grief; nāśayate — destroys; sarvaṃ — everything; nāsti — there is not; śokasamo — equal to grief; ripuḥ — enemy

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.