# Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 30 — The walk to Daśaratha’s palace *Seeing Rāma, Sītā & Lakṣmaṇa without royal honours, citizens propose leaving Ayodhyā to follow them* Portion: Preparing for exile and taking leave · Verses: 24 · Ref format: 2.30. ## Sequence - After distributing their possessions, Rāma, Sītā, and Lakṣmaṇa set out on foot for Daśaratha's palace → the brothers carry their bows, already decorated with garlands by Sītā (30.1–4) - people crowd the rooftops and contrast Rāma's former military escort with his present company of only his wife and brother (30.5–7) - they worry about Sītā, now publicly visible on the street and soon to face the weather and hardships of the forest (30.8–10) - they condemn the banishment of a prince whose conduct has earned everyone's affection (30.11–14) - some propose taking their families and possessions after him, leaving Kaikeyī an empty city → wherever Rāma lives, they say, will become their city, while abandoned Ayodhyā becomes a forest (30.15–20) - Rāma hears them without changing his decision and asks Sumantra to announce him to the King (30.21–24). ## Verses **2.30.1** dattvā tu saha vaidehyā brāhmaṇebhyo dhanaṃ bahu jagmatuḥ pitaraṃ draṣṭuṃ sītayā saha rāghavau Having, together with Vaidehī, given much wealth to the brahmins, the two Rāghavas, along with Sītā, went to see their father. **2.30.2** tato gṛhīte duṣprekṣye aśobhetāṃ tadāyudhe mālādāmabhir āsakte sītayā samalaṃkṛte Then the two bows, grasped and dazzling to behold, shone forth — hung with garlands and wreaths, and decorated by Sītā. **2.30.3** tataḥ prāsādaharmyāṇi vimānaśikharāṇi ca adhiruhya janaḥ śrīmān udāsīno vyalokayat Then the prosperous folk, climbing up to the palace-mansions and the tops of the lofty houses, looked on listlessly. **2.30.4** na hi rathyāḥ sma śakyante gantuṃ bahujanākulāḥ āruhya tasmāt prāsādān dīnāḥ paśyanti rāghavam For the streets, thronged with a multitude of people, could not be walked upon; so, climbing the palaces, the dejected folk gazed upon Rāghava. **2.30.5** padātiṃ varjitacchatraṃ rāmaṃ dṛṣṭvā tadā janāḥ ūcur bahuvidhā vācaḥ śokopahatacetasaḥ Seeing Rāma on foot and deprived of the royal parasol, the people then, their minds stricken with grief, uttered manifold words: **2.30.6** yaṃ yāntam anuyāti sma caturaṅgabalaṃ mahat tam ekaṃ sītayā sārdham anuyāti sma lakṣmaṇaḥ He whom, as he went, a great army of four divisions used to follow — him now, alone, only Lakṣmaṇa follows, along with Sītā. **2.30.7** aiśvaryasya rasajñaḥ san kāmināṃ caiva kāmadaḥ necchaty evānṛtaṃ kartuṃ pitaraṃ dharmagauravāt Though he has tasted the sweetness of sovereignty and is the granter of wishes to those who desire, he will not make his father's word false, out of reverence for dharma. **2.30.8** yā na śakyā purā draṣṭuṃ bhūtair ākāśagair api tām adya sītāṃ paśyanti rājamārgagatā janāḥ She whom formerly not even the sky-going beings could see — that Sītā the people now behold as she walks upon the royal highway. **2.30.9** aṅgarāgocitāṃ sītāṃ raktacandana sevinīm varṣam uṣṇaṃ ca śītaṃ ca neṣyaty āśu vivarṇatām Sītā, accustomed to fragrant unguents and wont to use red sandal-paste — the rain, the heat and the cold will soon bring to pallor. **2.30.10** adya nūnaṃ daśarathaḥ sattvam āviśya bhāṣate na hi rājā priyaṃ putraṃ vivāsayitum arhati Surely today Daśaratha speaks as though some spirit had entered him; for a king ought not to banish his beloved son. **2.30.11** nirguṇasyāpi putrasyā kāthaṃ syād vipravāsanam kiṃ punar yasya loko 'yaṃ jito vṛttena kevalam Even for a son devoid of merit, how could there be banishment? — how much less for one by whom this whole world has been won by conduct alone. **2.30.12** ānṛśaṃsyam anukrośaḥ śrutaṃ śīlaṃ damaḥ śamaḥ rāghavaṃ śobhayanty ete ṣaḍguṇāḥ puruṣottamam Kindness, compassion, sacred learning, good character, self-control and tranquillity — these six virtues adorn Rāghava, the best of men. **2.30.13** tasmāt tasyopaghātena prajāḥ paramapīḍitāḥ audakānīva sattvāni grīṣme salilasaṃkṣayāt Therefore, by the injury done to him, the subjects are supremely afflicted, like water-creatures in summer from the drying-up of the water. **2.30.14** pīḍayā pīḍitaṃ sarvaṃ jagad asya jagatpateḥ mūlasyevopaghātena vṛkṣaḥ puṣpaphalopagaḥ By his affliction the whole world of this lord of the world is afflicted, as a tree bearing flowers and fruit is harmed by injury to its root. **2.30.15** te lakṣmaṇa iva kṣipraṃ sapatnyaḥ sahabāndhavāḥ gacchantam anugacchāmo yena gacchati rāghavaḥ Let us, like Lakṣmaṇa, quickly follow him with our wives and kinsmen as he goes, by whatever way Rāghava goes. **2.30.16** udyānāni parityajya kṣetrāṇi ca gṛhāṇi ca ekaduḥkhasukhā rāmam anugacchāma dhārmikam Abandoning gardens, fields and houses, sharing one and the same grief and joy with him, let us follow the righteous Rāma. **2.30.17** samuddhṛtanidhānāni paridhvastājirāṇi ca upāttadhanadhānyāni hṛtasārāṇi sarvaśaḥ With their buried treasures dug up, their courtyards laid waste, their wealth and grain removed, their valuables carried off entirely, **2.30.18** rajasābhyavakīrṇāni parityaktāni daivataiḥ asmattyaktāni veśmāni kaikeyī pratipadyatām strewn over with dust and abandoned by the household deities — let Kaikeyī take possession of our houses, forsaken by us. **2.30.19** vanaṃ nagaram evāstu yena gacchati rāghavaḥ asmābhiś ca parityaktaṃ puraṃ saṃpadyatāṃ vanam Let the forest itself be the city, wherever Rāghava goes; and let the city, forsaken by us, become a forest. **2.30.20** bilāni daṃṣṭriṇaḥ sarve sānūni mṛgapakṣiṇaḥ asmattyaktaṃ prapadyantāṃ sevyamānaṃ tyajantu ca Let all the fanged creatures take to (our) dens, and the beasts and birds to the hilltops; let them resort to what we have abandoned, and abandon what they had been frequenting. **2.30.21** ity evaṃ vividhā vāco nānājanasamīritāḥ śuśrāva rāmaḥ śrutvā ca na vicakre 'sya mānasaṃ Such manifold words, uttered by all manner of people, Rāma heard; and having heard them, his mind did not waver. **2.30.22** pratīkṣamāṇo 'bhijanaṃ tadārtam anārtarūpaḥ prahasann ivātha jagāma rāmaḥ pitaraṃ didṛkṣuḥ pitur nideśaṃ vidhivac cikīrṣuḥ Regarding his stricken kinsfolk yet himself showing no distress, almost smiling, Rāma then went on, longing to see his father and eager to carry out his father's command duly. **2.30.23** tat pūrvam aikṣvākasuto mahātmā rāmo gamiṣyan vanam ārtarūpam vyatiṣṭhata prekṣya tadā sumantraṃ pitur mahātmā pratihāraṇārtham First of all, the great-souled Rāma, son of the Ikṣvāku line, about to go to the sorrowful forest, then halted, looking at Sumantra, so that he might be announced to his father. **2.30.24** pitur nideśena tu dharmavatsalo vanapraveśe kṛtabuddhiniścayaḥ sa rāghavaḥ prekṣya sumantram abravīn nivedayasvāgamanaṃ nṛpāya me But that Rāghava, devoted to dharma, having firmly resolved by his father's command upon entering the forest, looked at Sumantra and said: “Announce my coming to the king.”