← 2.9.37 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 9: Mantharā’s plan for the boons · 2.9.39 →
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.9.38
Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 9: Mantharā’s plan for the boons. She recalls Kaikeyī’s rescue of Daśaratha and urges Bharata’s abhiṣeka and fourteen years of exile for Rāma
In the sequence: Kaikeyī praises Mantharā's cleverness and promises her lavish rewards
2.9.38
paridhāya śubhe vastre devadeva cariṣyasi
candram āhvayamānena mukhenāpratimānanā
gamiṣyasi gatiṃ mukhyāṃ garvayantī dviṣajjanam
Clad in fair garments, you shall move about like a very goddess; with a face that challenges the moon, of matchless countenance, you shall walk with a queenly gait, filling your foes with chagrin.
Words: paridhāya — having put on; śubhe vastre — fair garments (dual); devadeva — like a goddess (godlike); cariṣyasi — you will walk about; candram — the moon; āhvayamānena — challenging, rivaling; mukhenāpratimānanā — with your face, of matchless countenance; gamiṣyasi — you will attain, go with; gatiṃ mukhyāṃ — a foremost gait, station; garvayantī — filling with envy, putting to shame; dviṣajjanam — the hostile folk
Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki. 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.