← 2.58.56 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 58: The curse and Daśaratha’s death
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.58.57
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.
2.58.57
tathā tu dīnaṃ kathayan narādhipaḥ priyasya putrasya vivāsanāturaḥ
gate 'rdharātre bhṛśaduḥkhapīḍitas tadā jahau prāṇam udāradarśanaḥ
Thus lamenting piteously, the lord of men, distressed at the banishment of his beloved son, when the night was half spent, grievously afflicted with pain, the noble-visaged one then gave up his life.
Words: tathā — thus; tu — indeed; dīnaṃ — piteously; kathayan — lamenting, telling; narādhipaḥ — the lord of men; priyasya — of the beloved; putrasya — son; vivāsanāturaḥ — distressed at the banishment; gate — when it had passed; 'rdharātre — the middle of the night; bhṛśaduḥkhapīḍitas — grievously afflicted with pain; tadā — then; jahau — gave up; prāṇam — life-breath; udāradarśanaḥ — of noble appearance
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.