← 2.60.18 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 60: Daśaratha’s body preserved in oil

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.60.19

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 60: Daśaratha’s body preserved in oil. Kausalyā blames Kaikeyī, the ministers place the body in an oil trough and await a son before cremation

In the sequence: the palace and city continue mourning, and the people openly condemn Kaikeyī.

2.60.19

narāś ca nāryaś ca sametya saṃghaśo vigarhamāṇā bharatasya mātaram
tadā nagaryāṃ naradevasaṃkṣaye babhūvur ārtā na ca śarma lebhire

And the men and women, gathering in throngs and reviling Bharata's mother, were then, at the death of the king, stricken with grief throughout the city, and found no comfort.

Words: narāś ca — and men; nāryaś ca — and women; sametya — having assembled; saṃghaśo — in throngs, in groups; vigarhamāṇā — reviling, censuring; bharatasya — of Bharata; mātaram — the mother; tadā — then; nagaryāṃ — in the city; naradevasaṃkṣaye — at the death of the king (man-god); babhūvur — became; ārtā — afflicted; na ca — and not; śarma — peace, comfort; lebhire — obtained

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.