← 2.58.51 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 58: The curse and Daśaratha’s death · 2.58.53 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.58.52

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: Returning to the present, Daśaratha tells Kausalyā that the curse has now reached him → he longs for one final touch from Rāma, but his sight and memory begin to fail → he imagines the fortunate people who will see his son return after the exile → calling for Rāma, he dies at midnight.

2.58.52

padmapatrekṣaṇaṃ subhru sudaṃṣṭraṃ cārunāsikam
dhanyā drakṣyanti rāmasya tārādhipanibhaṃ mukham

Fortunate are they who will behold Rāma's face — lotus-petal-eyed, fair-browed, with fine teeth and a lovely nose, resembling the lord of stars (the moon).

Words: padmapatrekṣaṇaṃ — with eyes like lotus petals; subhru — fair-browed; sudaṃṣṭraṃ — with fine teeth; cārunāsikam — with a lovely nose; dhanyā — fortunate; drakṣyanti — will see; rāmasya — of Rāma; tārādhipanibhaṃ — resembling the lord of stars (moon); mukham — face

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.