← 2.69.6 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 69: Kausalyā accepts Bharata’s innocence · 2.69.8 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.69.7

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 69: Kausalyā accepts Bharata’s innocence. Suspected of seeking the Kingdom, Bharata invokes curses on anyone who approved the exile and wins her trust

In the sequence: believing the Kingdom is what he wanted, she reproaches him and asks to be sent to Rāma

2.69.7

prasthāpya cīravasanaṃ putraṃ me vanavāsinam
kaikeyī kaṃ guṇaṃ tatra paśyati krūradarśinī

Having sent my son off clad in bark to dwell in the forest, what merit does cruel-eyed Kaikeyī see in that?

Words: prasthāpya — having sent off; cīravasanaṃ — clad in bark garments; putraṃ — son; me — my; vanavāsinam — forest-dwelling; kaikeyī — Kaikeyī; kaṃ — what; guṇaṃ — merit, virtue; tatra — in that, therein; paśyati — sees; krūradarśinī — cruel-eyed, of cruel gaze

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.