← 2.96.15 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 96: The mothers reach Rāma’s hut · 2.96.17 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.96.16

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 96: The mothers reach Rāma’s hut. Kausalyā grieves over Daśaratha’s humble offering, the mothers greet Rāma, Lakṣmaṇa & Sītā and the assembly gathers

In the sequence: the other women comfort her and continue to the hut → Rāma bows to all his mothers, who touch him affectionately and wipe the dust from his body

2.96.16

tāḥ pāṇibhiḥ sukhasparśair mṛdvaṅgulitalaiḥ śubhaiḥ
pramamārjū rajaḥ pṛṣṭhād rāmasyāyatalocanāḥ

Those large-eyed women, with their hands soft to the touch, with tender fingers and palms, wiped the dust from Rāma's back.

Words: tāḥ — those [women]; pāṇibhiḥ — with hands; sukhasparśair — pleasant to the touch; mṛdvaṅgulitalaiḥ — with tender fingers and palms; śubhaiḥ — auspicious; pramamārjū — wiped away; rajaḥ — dust; pṛṣṭhād — from the back; rāmasyāyatalocanāḥ — of Rāma; (they,) the large-eyed

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.