← 2.57.2 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 57: Daśaratha’s arrow aimed at a sound · 2.57.4 →
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.57.3
Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 57: Daśaratha’s arrow aimed at a sound. He recalls mistaking a filling pot for an elephant and shooting a youth who directs him to his blind parents
In the sequence: Waking repeatedly in distress, Daśaratha begins a confession to Kausalyā at midnight on the sixth night
2.57.3
sa rājā rajanīṃ ṣaṣṭhīṃ rāme pravrajite vanam
ardharātre daśarathaḥ saṃsmaran duṣkṛtaṃ kṛtam
kausalyāṃ putraśokārtām idaṃ vacanam abravīt
On the sixth night after Rāma had gone forth to the forest, at midnight, King Daśaratha, recalling the evil deed he had done, spoke these words to Kausalyā, who was stricken with grief for her son:
Words: sa — that; rājā — king; rajanīṃ — night; ṣaṣṭhīṃ — sixth; rāme pravrajite — when Rāma had gone forth; vanam — to the forest; ardharātre — at midnight; daśarathaḥ — Daśaratha; saṃsmaran — recalling; duṣkṛtaṃ — the evil deed; kṛtam — committed, done; kausalyāṃ — to Kausalyā; putraśokārtām — stricken with grief for her son; idaṃ — these; vacanam — words; abravīt — spoke
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.