← 2.71.7 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 71: Daśaratha’s remaining rites · 2.71.9 →
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.71.8
Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 71: Daśaratha’s remaining rites. Bharata performs śrāddha and distributes gifts, the brothers grieve over the ashes and bones, Vasiṣṭha & Sumantra help them complete their duties
In the sequence: the sight of ashes and bones overwhelms him
2.71.8
dṛṣṭvā bhasmāruṇaṃ tac ca dagdhāsthisthānamaṇḍalam
pituḥ śarīra nirvāṇaṃ niṣṭanan viṣasāda ha
And seeing that circle of ground grey-red with ashes and strewn with burnt bones — the extinction of his father's body — he groaned and sank down in despair.
Words: dṛṣṭvā — having seen; bhasmāruṇaṃ — grey-red with ashes; tac ca — and that; dagdhāsthisthānamaṇḍalam — the circular site strewn with burnt bones; pituḥ — of his father; śarīra nirvāṇaṃ — the extinction of the body; niṣṭanan — groaning; viṣasāda — sank down, despaired; ha — indeed
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.