← 2.59.13 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 59: Discovery of Daśaratha’s death

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.59.14

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 59: Discovery of Daśaratha’s death. Attendants arrive with the morning’s songs and offerings, find the King unresponsive and awaken the Queens to mourning

In the sequence: his wives gather around the body, and the palace fills with mourning.

2.59.14

atītam ājñāya tu pārthivarṣabhaṃ yaśasvinaṃ saṃparivārya patnayaḥ
bhṛśaṃ rudantyaḥ karuṇaṃ suduḥkhitāḥ pragṛhya bāhū vyalapann anāthavat

Realizing that the bull among kings, the illustrious one, had passed away, his wives surrounded him and, weeping bitterly and piteously, deeply grieved, flung up their arms and lamented like helpless creatures.

Words: atītam — passed away, dead; ājñāya — having realized; tu — indeed; pārthivarṣabhaṃ — the bull among kings; yaśasvinaṃ — the illustrious; saṃparivārya — having surrounded; patnayaḥ — the wives; bhṛśaṃ — greatly, bitterly; rudantyaḥ — weeping; karuṇaṃ — piteously; suduḥkhitāḥ — deeply grieved; pragṛhya — having raised up; bāhū — (their) two arms; vyalapann — lamented; anāthavat — like helpless ones

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.