← 2.90.19 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 90: Lakṣmaṇa suspects Bharata’s army · 2.90.21 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.90.20

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 90: Lakṣmaṇa suspects Bharata’s army. He recognizes the banner, assumes an attack and urges Rāma to extinguish the fire, hide Sītā and prepare to fight

In the sequence: his anger grows into threats against Bharata, Kaikeyī, and the army.

2.90.20

adya putraṃ hataṃ saṃkhye kaikeyī rājyakāmukā
mayā paśyet suduḥkhārtā hastibhagnam iva drumam

Today let Kaikeyī, greedy for the kingdom, sore-stricken with grief, behold her son slain by me in battle, like a tree broken by an elephant.

Words: adya — today; putraṃ hataṃ — her son slain; saṃkhye — in battle; kaikeyī — Kaikeyī; rājyakāmukā — greedy for the kingdom; mayā — by me; paśyet — may she behold; suduḥkhārtā — sorely stricken with grief; hastibhagnam — broken by an elephant; iva drumam — like a tree

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.