← 2.66.42 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 66: Kaikeyī’s disclosure · 2.66.44 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.66.43

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 66: Kaikeyī’s disclosure. Bharata learns that Daśaratha died calling for the exiles, Kaikeyī admits arranging Rāma’s banishment and urges him to claim the throne

In the sequence: Kaikeyī admits that Rāma did nothing wrong: she obtained the Kingdom for Bharata and the exile for Rāma, after which Daśaratha died of grief → she tells Bharata to perform the funeral and take the throne, expecting gratitude for what she has done.

2.66.43

tam apaśyan priyaṃ putraṃ mahīpālo mahāyaśāḥ
putraśokaparidyūnaḥ pañcatvam upapedivān

“Not seeing his dear son, the great and glorious lord of the earth, worn down by grief for his son, attained dissolution into the five elements.”

Words: tam — him; apaśyan — not seeing; priyaṃ — dear; putraṃ — son; mahīpālo — the lord of earth; mahāyaśāḥ — of great renown; putraśokaparidyūnaḥ — worn down by grief for his son; pañcatvam — the state of the five elements (death); upapedivān — attained

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.