# Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 47 — Rāma grieves and asks Lakṣmaṇa to return *Rāma fears for his parents and asks Lakṣmaṇa to return, Lakṣmaṇa refuses to leave him and steadies his resolve* Portion: The river journey to Citrakūṭa · Verses: 33 · Ref format: 2.47. ## Sequence - Without Sumantra now, Rāma tells Lakṣmaṇa that they must share the task of guarding Sītā and make their own bedding (47.1–5) - he imagines Daśaratha grieving while Kaikeyī is satisfied and worries that her ambition may endanger the old King (47.6–9) - he reflects bitterly on a father surrendering an obedient son for his wife's wishes and on Bharata receiving the Kingdom (47.10–14) - fearing for Kausalyā and Sumitrā, he asks Lakṣmaṇa to return and protect them while he continues with Sītā (47.15–18) - he reproaches himself for bringing his mother sorrow when she had expected happiness from him (47.19–24) - although he could seize Ayodhyā by force, he refuses to do so at the cost of righteousness → he falls silent in tears (47.25–28) - Lakṣmaṇa says that neither he nor Sītā can live without Rāma and that his grief is overwhelming them too → reassured by their devotion, Rāma renews his resolve to complete the exile (47.29–33). ## Verses **2.47.1** sa taṃ vṛkṣaṃ samāsādya saṃdhyām anvāsya paścimām rāmo ramayatāṃ śreṣṭha iti hovāca lakṣmaṇam Reaching that tree and performing the evening twilight worship, Rāma, best of those who bring delight, spoke thus to Lakṣmaṇa: **2.47.2** adyeyaṃ prathamā rātrir yātā janapadād bahiḥ yā sumantreṇa rahitā tāṃ notkaṇṭhitum arhasi “Today this first night has passed outside our realm, a night bereft of Sumantra; you should not grieve over it. **2.47.3** jāgartavyam atandribhyām adya prabhṛti rātriṣu yogakṣemo hi sītāyā vartate lakṣmaṇāvayoḥ From this day on we two must keep watch unwearied through the nights; for the safety and welfare of Sītā, Lakṣmaṇa, rests upon us both. **2.47.4** rātriṃ kathaṃ cid evemāṃ saumitre vartayāmahe upāvartāmahe bhūmāv āstīrya svayam ārjitaiḥ Let us somehow pass this very night, Saumitri; let us lie down upon the ground, having spread out things gathered with our own hands. **2.47.5** sa tu saṃviśya medinyāṃ mahārhaśayanocitaḥ imāḥ saumitraye rāmo vyājahāra kathāḥ śubhāḥ So Rāma, accustomed to a most costly couch, having lain down upon the earth, spoke these fair words to Saumitri: **2.47.6** dhruvam adya mahārājo duḥkhaṃ svapiti lakṣmaṇa kṛtakāmā tu kaikeyī tuṣṭā bhavitum arhati “Surely tonight the great king sleeps in sorrow, Lakṣmaṇa; but Kaikeyī, her desire fulfilled, may well be content. **2.47.7** sā hi devī mahārājaṃ kaikeyī rājyakāraṇāt api na cyāvayet prāṇān dṛṣṭvā bharatam āgatam For that queen Kaikeyī, for the sake of the kingdom, might even, on seeing Bharata come, drive the life-breath from the great king. **2.47.8** anāthaś caiva vṛddhaś ca mayā caiva vinākṛtaḥ kiṃ kariṣyati kāmātmā kaikeyyā vaśam āgataḥ Helpless and old, and deprived of me as well, what will he do — that man ruled by desire, fallen under Kaikeyī's power? **2.47.9** idaṃ vyasanam ālokya rājñaś ca mativibhramam kāma evārdhadharmābhyāṃ garīyān iti me matiḥ Seeing this calamity and the king's confusion of mind, my conviction is that desire is weightier than both wealth and dharma. **2.47.10** ko hy avidvān api pumān pramadāyāḥ kṛte tyajet chandānuvartinaṃ putraṃ tāto mām iva lakṣmaṇa For what man, even a fool, would for the sake of a woman cast off an obedient son — as my father has cast me off, Lakṣmaṇa? **2.47.11** sukhī bata sabhāryaś ca bharataḥ kekayīsutaḥ muditān kosalān eko yo bhokṣyaty adhirājavat Happy indeed, together with his wife, is Bharata, the Kekaya princess's son, who alone will enjoy the flourishing Kosalas like a sovereign king. **2.47.12** sa hi sarvasya rājyasya mukham ekaṃ bhaviṣyati tāte ca vayasātīte mayi cāraṇyam āśrite For he will become the sole head of the entire kingdom, now that our father is advanced in years and I have taken to the forest. **2.47.13** arthadharmau parityajya yaḥ kāmam anuvartate evam āpadyate kṣipraṃ rājā daśaratho yathā He who, forsaking wealth and dharma, follows after desire, swiftly comes to grief — as King Daśaratha has. **2.47.14** manye daśarathāntāya mama pravrājanāya ca kaikeyī saumya saṃprāptā rājyāya bharatasya ca I think, gentle one, that Kaikeyī has come into our house for Daśaratha's end, for my banishment, and for the kingship of Bharata. **2.47.15** apīdānīṃ na kaikeyī saubhāgyamadamohitā kausalyāṃ ca sumitrāṃ ca saṃprabādheta matkṛte I only hope that Kaikeyī, now deluded by the intoxication of good fortune, may not persecute Kausalyā and Sumitrā on my account. **2.47.16** mā sma matkāraṇād devī sumitrā duḥkham āvaset ayodhyām ita eva tvaṃ kāle praviśa lakṣmaṇa Let not queen Sumitrā dwell in sorrow on my account; you, Lakṣmaṇa, go back to Ayodhyā from here in good time. **2.47.17** aham eko gamiṣyāmi sītayā saha daṇḍakān anāthāyā hi nāthas tvaṃ kausalyāyā bhaviṣyasi I shall go alone with Sītā to the Daṇḍaka forests; for you will be the protector of the helpless Kausalyā. **2.47.18** kṣudrakarmā hi kaikeyī dveṣād anyāyyam ācaret paridadyā hi dharmajñe bharate mama mātaram For Kaikeyī, of base deeds, might out of malice act unjustly toward her; so entrust my mother to the dharma-knowing Bharata. **2.47.19** nūnaṃ jātyantare kasmiṃḥ striyaḥ putrair viyojitāḥ jananyā mama saumitre tad apy etad upasthitam Surely in some former birth women were parted from their sons by my mother, Saumitri; and now that too has come home to her. **2.47.20** mayā hi cirapuṣṭena duḥkhasaṃvardhitena ca viprāyujyata kausalyā phalakāle dhig astu mām For Kausalyā has been parted, just at the time of harvest, from me whom she nourished so long and reared through hardship — a curse upon me! **2.47.21** mā sma sīmantinī kā cij janayet putram īdṛśam saumitre yo 'ham ambāyā dadmi śokam anantakam Let no woman ever bear such a son as I, Saumitri, who give my mother grief without end. **2.47.22** manye prītiviśiṣṭā sā matto lakṣmaṇasārikā yasyās tac chrūyate vākyaṃ śuka pādam arer daśa I think that mynah bird is now more favoured than I am, Lakṣmaṇa — the one whose speech is heard: 'Parrot, bite the enemy's foot!' **2.47.23** śocantyāś cālpabhāgyāyā na kiṃ cid upakurvatā purtreṇa kim aputrāyā mayā kāryam ariṃdama Of what use, O tamer of foes, is a son like me — who does nothing to help — to my grieving, ill-fated mother, who is as good as sonless? **2.47.24** alpabhāgyā hi me mātā kausalyā rahitā mayā śete paramaduḥkhārtā patitā śokasāgare For my mother Kausalyā, of little fortune and bereft of me, lies stricken with utmost grief, fallen into an ocean of sorrow. **2.47.25** eko hy aham ayodhyāṃ ca pṛthivīṃ cāpi lakṣmaṇa tareyam iṣubhiḥ kruddho nanu vīryam akāraṇam For I alone, Lakṣmaṇa, if enraged, could master Ayodhyā and the whole earth too with my arrows; yet valor without cause is surely wrong. **2.47.26** adharmabhaya bhītaś ca paralokasya cānagha tena lakṣmaṇa nādyāham ātmānam abhiṣecaye But fearing unrighteousness and the loss of the world beyond, O sinless one — for that reason, Lakṣmaṇa, I do not today consecrate myself as king. **2.47.27** etad anyac ca karuṇaṃ vilapya vijane bahu aśrupūrṇamukho rāmo niśi tūṣṇīm upāviśat Having lamented this and much else piteously in that lonely place, Rāma, his face bathed in tears, sat silent in the night. **2.47.28** vilapyoparataṃ rāmaṃ gatārciṣam ivānalam samudram iva nirvegam āśvāsayata lakṣmaṇaḥ Lakṣmaṇa consoled Rāma, who had ceased his lament — like a fire whose flames had died, like an ocean grown calm. **2.47.29** dhruvam adya purī rāma ayodhyā yudhināṃ vara niṣprabhā tvayi niṣkrānte gatacandreva śarvarī “Surely today, O Rāma, best of warriors, now that you have departed, the city of Ayodhyā is without splendour, like a night whose moon has set. **2.47.30** naitad aupayikaṃ rāma yad idaṃ paritapyase viṣādayasi sītāṃ ca māṃ caiva puruṣarṣabha This is not fitting, Rāma, that you should grieve so; you drive Sītā and me too into despair, O bull among men. **2.47.31** na ca sītā tvayā hīnā na cāham api rāghava muhūrtam api jīvāvo jalān matsyāv ivoddhṛtau Neither Sītā without you, nor I either, O Rāghava, could live even a moment — like two fish taken out of the water. **2.47.32** na hi tātaṃ na śatrughnaṃ na sumitrāṃ paraṃtapa draṣṭum iccheyam adyāhaṃ svargaṃ vāpi tvayā vinā Without you, O scorcher of foes, I would not wish today to see my father, nor Śatrughna, nor Sumitrā, nor even heaven. **2.47.33** sa lakṣmaṇasyottama puṣkalaṃ vaco niśamya caivaṃ vanavāsam ādarāt samāḥ samastā vidadhe paraṃtapaḥ prapadya dharmaṃ sucirāya rāghavaḥ Having attentively heard this excellent and copious speech of Lakṣmaṇa, that scorcher of foes, Rāghava, embracing dharma, resolved on dwelling in the forest for all those years to come.