← 2.58.25 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 58: The curse and Daśaratha’s death · 2.58.27 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.58.26

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 parents touched the body and lamented the loss of the person who fed them, guided them, tended the fire, and comforted them

2.58.26

na nv ahaṃ te priyaḥ putra mātaraṃ paśya dhārmika
kiṃ nu nāliṅgase putra sukumāra vaco vada

'Am I not dear to you, my son? Look at your mother, righteous one. Why do you not embrace me, my son, so tender? Speak a word.'

Words: na — not; nv — indeed; ahaṃ — I; te — to you; priyaḥ — dear; putra — O son; mātaraṃ — mother; paśya — look at; dhārmika — O righteous one; kiṃ nu — why; nāliṅgase — you do not embrace; putra — O son; sukumāra — O tender one; vaco — a word; vada — speak

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.