← 2.9.40 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 9: Mantharā’s plan for the boons · 2.9.42 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.9.41

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: urged to act before it is too late, she removes her ornaments, lies on the bare floor, and declares that she will either obtain the two demands or die.

2.9.41

gatodake setubandho na kalyāṇi vidhīyate
uttiṣṭha kuru kalyāṇaṃ rājānam anudarśaya

One does not build a dam once the water has run off, O blessed lady; arise, secure your good, and present yourself before the king.

Words: gatodake — when the water is gone; setubandho — the building of a dam; na — not; kalyāṇi — O blessed lady; vidhīyate — is made, done; uttiṣṭha — arise; kuru kalyāṇaṃ — secure your good; rājānam anudarśaya — present yourself to the king

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.