# Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 43 — Rāma crosses Kosala’s rivers

*He crosses the Vedaśruti, Gomatī & Syandikā, shows Sītā the ancestral lands and longs to see his parents again*

Portion: The river journey to Citrakūṭa · Verses: 15 · Ref format: 2.43.<verse>

## Sequence

- Rāma continues through the remaining night, performs his dawn worship, and travels past outlying villages and forests (43.1–3)
- along the way he hears villagers condemn Daśaratha's decision and Kaikeyī's demands (43.4–7)
- heading toward the country associated with Agastya, the travelers cross the Vedaśruti, then the Gomatī and Syandikā rivers (43.8–10)
- Rāma points out to Sītā the prosperous country traditionally given by Manu to Ikṣvāku (43.11–12)
- speaking with Sumantra, he wonders when he will return to his parents and once again visit the Sarayū's woods (43.13–15).

## Verses

**2.43.1**  
rāmo 'pi rātriśeṣeṇa tenaiva mahad antaram  
jagāma puruṣavyāghraḥ pitur ājñām anusmaran  
Rāma too, the tiger among men, in just that remainder of the night traversed a great distance, mindful of his father's command.

**2.43.2**  
tathaiva gacchatas tasya vyapāyād rajanī śivā  
upāsya sa śivāṃ saṃdhyāṃ viṣayāntaṃ vyagāhata  
As he journeyed on in the same way, the auspicious night wore away; and having worshipped the holy twilight, he plunged into the far border of the kingdom.

**2.43.3**  
grāmān vikṛṣṭasīmāṃs tān puṣpitāni vanāni ca  
paśyann atiyayau śīghraṃ śarair iva hayottamaiḥ  
Gazing on those villages with their far-flung boundaries and the flowering forests, he swept swiftly past, as if borne on arrows, by his excellent horses.

**2.43.4**  
śṛṇvan vāco manuṣyāṇāṃ grāmasaṃvāsavāsinām  
rājānaṃ dhig daśarathaṃ kāmasya vaśam āgatam  
hearing the words of the people who dwelt together in the villages: 'A curse on King Daśaratha, fallen under the sway of desire —

**2.43.5**  
hā nṛśaṃsādya kaikeyī pāpā pāpānubandhinī  
tīkṣṇā saṃbhinnamaryādā tīkṣṇe karmaṇi vartate  
Alas, cruel this day is Kaikeyī, wicked and pursuing wickedness, harsh, having shattered all bounds of propriety, she engages in a harsh deed —

**2.43.6**  
yā putram īdṛśaṃ rājñaḥ pravāsayati dhārmikam  
vana vāse mahāprājñaṃ sānukrośam atandritam  
she who drives into exile such a son of the king — righteous, greatly wise, compassionate and unwearied — to dwell in the forest!'

**2.43.7**  
etā vāco manuṣyāṇāṃ grāmasaṃvāsavāsinām  
śṛṇvann atiyayau vīraḥ kosalān kosaleśvaraḥ  
Hearing these words of the people who dwelt together in the villages, the hero, lord of the Kosalas, passed on beyond the Kosala lands.

**2.43.8**  
tato vedaśrutiṃ nāma śivavārivahāṃ nadīm  
uttīryābhimukhaḥ prāyād agastyādhyuṣitāṃ diśam  
Then, crossing the river named Vedaśruti, which bore auspicious waters, he went on facing the region inhabited by Agastya.

**2.43.9**  
gatvā tu suciraṃ kālaṃ tataḥ śītajalāṃ nadīm  
gomatīṃ goyutānūpām atarat sāgaraṃgamām  
After journeying a very long while, he then crossed the cool-watered river Gomatī, whose meadow-banks teemed with cattle, flowing on to the sea.

**2.43.10**  
gomatīṃ cāpy atikramya rāghavaḥ śīghragair hayaiḥ  
mayūrahaṃsābhirutāṃ tatāra syandikāṃ nadīm  
And crossing the Gomatī too, Rāghava, with his swift-going horses, forded the river Syandikā, loud with the cries of peacocks and geese.

**2.43.11**  
sa mahīṃ manunā rājñā dattām ikṣvākave purā  
sphītāṃ rāṣṭrāvṛtāṃ rāmo vaidehīm anvadarśayat  
Rāma pointed out to Vaidehī the land that King Manu had given of old to Ikṣvāku, prosperous and covered with realms.

**2.43.12**  
sūta ity eva cābhāṣya sārathiṃ tam abhīkṣṇaśaḥ  
haṃsamattasvaraḥ śrīmān uvāca puruṣarṣabhaḥ  
And addressing that charioteer again and again with 'O charioteer,' the illustrious bull among men, his voice like an exultant swan's, spoke:

**2.43.13**  
kadāhaṃ punar āgamya sarayvāḥ puṣpite vane  
mṛgayāṃ paryāṭaṣyāmi mātrā pitrā ca saṃgataḥ  
'When shall I come back again and roam in the chase in the flowering forest of the Sarayū, reunited with my mother and father?'

**2.43.14**  
nātyartham abhikāṅkṣāmi mṛgayāṃ sarayūvane  
ratir hy eṣātulā loke rājarṣigaṇasaṃmatā  
'Not overmuch do I long for the hunt in the Sarayū forest — yet this is a peerless delight in the world, esteemed by the whole host of royal seers.'

**2.43.15**  
sa tam adhvānam aikṣvākaḥ sūtaṃ madhurayā girā  
taṃ tam artham abhipretya yayauvākyam udīrayan  
Uttering to the charioteer, in sweet speech, words aimed now at this matter and now at that, the scion of Ikṣvāku traversed that road.