← 2.96.20 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 96: The mothers reach Rāma’s hut · 2.96.22 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.96.21

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: Kausalyā embraces Sītā and grieves over the effect of forest life on her

2.96.21

videharājasya sutā snuṣā daśarathasya ca
rāmapatnī kathaṃ duḥkhaṃ saṃprāptā nirjane vane

How has the daughter of the king of Videha, the daughter-in-law of Daśaratha, the wife of Rāma, come to such misery in a desolate forest?

Words: videharājasya — of the king of Videha; sutā — daughter; snuṣā — daughter-in-law; daśarathasya — of Daśaratha; ca — and; rāmapatnī — wife of Rāma; kathaṃ — how; duḥkhaṃ — misery; saṃprāptā — has come to; nirjane — in the desolate; vane — forest

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.