← 2.58.19 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 58: The curse and Daśaratha’s death · 2.58.21 →
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.58.20
Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 58: The curse and Daśaratha’s death. The youth’s father condemns him to die grieving for a son, Daśaratha recalls the curse and dies calling for Rāma
In the sequence: the father said that the prince's ignorance and voluntary confession had spared him an immediate, greater punishment → he asked to be led to his son
2.58.20
kṣatriyeṇa vadho rājan vānaprasthe viśeṣataḥ
jñānapūrvaṃ kṛtaḥ sthānāc cyāvayed api vajriṇam
'A slaying committed knowingly by a kshatriya, O king, and especially of a forest-hermit, would cast down even the Thunderer (Indra) from his place.'
Words: kṣatriyeṇa — by a kshatriya; vadho — a slaying; rājan — O king; vānaprasthe — of a forest-hermit; viśeṣataḥ — especially; jñānapūrvaṃ — knowingly, wittingly; kṛtaḥ — done; sthānāc — from (his) place; cyāvayed — would cast down; api — even; vajriṇam — the Thunderbolt-bearer (Indra)
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.