# Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 68 — Surabhi’s tears and Bharata’s vow *He compares Kausalyā’s sorrow to Surabhi’s grief for her exhausted oxen and offers to replace Rāma in exile* Portion: Bharata rejects the Kingdom · Verses: 29 · Ref format: 2.68. ## Sequence - Bharata continues condemning Kaikeyī for causing death and exile without any wrong having been done to her (68.1–4) - he says her actions have disgraced him too: the world will associate him with the gain she sought (68.5–14) - to explain Kausalyā's suffering, he tells of the divine cow Surabhi, whose tears fell on Indra when she saw two of her sons exhausted under a plough (68.15–18) - when Indra asked what danger troubled her, she explained that she was grieving for the two oxen, beaten and worn out in the sun (68.19–23) - Bharata asks how much greater Kausalyā's grief must be when even a mother of countless offspring suffers for two (68.24–25) - he vows to restore Rāma and enter the forest himself → overwhelmed, he falls to the ground (68.26–29). ## Verses **2.68.1** tāṃ tathā garhayitvā tu mātaraṃ bharatas tadā roṣeṇa mahatāviṣṭaḥ punar evābravīd vacaḥ Having thus reproached his mother, Bharata, seized with great fury, then spoke yet again these words: **2.68.2** rājyād bhraṃśasva kaikeyi nṛśaṃse duṣṭacāriṇi parityaktā ca dharmeṇa mā mṛtaṃ rudatī bhava Fall from royalty, Kaikeyī, cruel woman of wicked conduct; forsaken by dharma, do not become one who weeps over the dead. **2.68.3** kiṃ nu te 'dūṣayad rājā rāmo vā bhṛśadhārmikaḥ yayor mṛtyur vivāsaś ca tvatkṛte tulyam āgatau How did the king wrong you, or Rāma so exceedingly righteous — the two for whom death and exile have alike come about because of you? **2.68.4** bhrūṇahatyām asi prāptā kulasyāsya vināśanāt kaikeyi narakaṃ gaccha mā ca bhartuḥ salokatām You have incurred the guilt of slaying an embryo through the destruction of this family; go to hell, Kaikeyī, and not to your husband's world. **2.68.5** yat tvayā hīdṛśaṃ pāpaṃ kṛtaṃ ghoreṇa karmaṇā sarvalokapriyaṃ hitvā mamāpy āpāditaṃ bhayam Since such a sin has been committed by you through a dreadful deed, casting out one dear to all the world, fear has been brought upon me too. **2.68.6** tvatkṛte me pitā vṛtto rāmaś cāraṇyam āśritaḥ ayaśo jīvaloke ca tvayāhaṃ pratipāditaḥ Because of you my father has died and Rāma has taken to the forest, and by you I have been brought to disgrace in the world of the living. **2.68.7** mātṛrūpe mamāmitre nṛśaṃse rājyakāmuke na te 'ham abhibhāṣyo 'smi durvṛtte patighātini O enemy of mine in a mother's guise, cruel and craving the kingdom, I am not one to be addressed by you, ill-conducted slayer of your husband. **2.68.8** kausalyā ca sumitrā ca yāś cānyā mama mātaraḥ duḥkhena mahatāviṣṭās tvāṃ prāpya kuladūṣiṇīm Kausalyā and Sumitrā, and whatever other mothers I have, are seized with great grief at having got you, the defiler of the family. **2.68.9** na tvam aśvapateḥ kanyā dharmarājasya dhīmataḥ rākṣasī tatra jātāsi kulapradhvaṃsinī pituḥ You are no daughter of the wise Aśvapati, that king of righteousness; a demoness were you born in his house, a destroyer of your father's line. **2.68.10** yat tvayā dhārmiko rāmo nityaṃ satyaparāyaṇaḥ vanaṃ prasthāpito duḥkhāt pitā ca tridivaṃ gataḥ —since by you the righteous Rāma, ever devoted to truth, was sent off to the forest, and my father, out of grief, went to heaven. **2.68.11** yat pradhānāsi tat pāpaṃ mayi pitrā vinākṛte bhrātṛbhyāṃ ca parityakte sarvalokasya cāpriye Whatever sin you are the chief author of, that falls upon me — bereft of my father, forsaken by my two brothers, and become hateful to all the world. **2.68.12** kausalyāṃ dharmasaṃyuktāṃ viyuktāṃ pāpaniścaye kṛtvā kaṃ prāpsyase tv adya lokaṃ nirayagāminī Having sundered the virtuous Kausalyā from her son, O you set on evil, what world will you now win, bound as you are for hell? **2.68.13** kiṃ nāvabudhyase krūre niyataṃ bandhusaṃśrayam jyeṣṭhaṃ pitṛsamaṃ rāmaṃ kausalyāyātmasaṃbhavam How do you fail to recognize, cruel one, that Rāma — the eldest, the constant refuge of his kin, like a father, sprung from Kausalyā herself? **2.68.14** aṅgapratyaṅgajaḥ putro hṛdayāc cāpi jāyate tasmāt priyataro mātuḥ priyatvān na tu bāndhavaḥ A son is born from every limb and member, and from the heart as well; therefore he is dearer to a mother than any kinsman, by the very nature of that love. **2.68.15** anyadā kila dharmajñā surabhiḥ surasaṃmatā vahamānau dadarśorvyāṃ putrau vigatacetasau Once, they say, the righteous Surabhi, honoured by the gods, saw two of her sons upon the earth, hauling a plough, their senses failing. **2.68.16** tāv ardhadivase śrāntau dṛṣṭvā putrau mahītale ruroda putra śokena bāṣpaparyākulekṣaṇā Seeing those two sons of hers wearied at midday upon the ground, she wept with grief for her sons, her eyes brimming and troubled with tears. **2.68.17** adhastād vrajatas tasyāḥ surarājño mahātmanaḥ bindavaḥ patitā gātre sūkṣmāḥ surabhigandhinaḥ Upon the body of the great-souled king of the gods, as he passed below her, there fell from her tiny drops, fragrant with a sweet scent. **2.68.18** tāṃ dṛṣṭvā śokasaṃtaptāṃ vajrapāṇir yaśasvinīm indraḥ prāñjalir udvignaḥ surarājo 'bravīd vacaḥ Seeing that illustrious one scorched with grief, Indra the thunderbolt-bearer, king of the gods, distressed and with palms joined, spoke these words: **2.68.19** bhayaṃ kaccin na cāsmāsu kutaś cid vidyate mahat kuto nimittaḥ śokas te brūhi sarvahitaiṣiṇi Surely no great danger threatens us from any quarter? Tell me, O you who wish the welfare of all, from what cause comes your grief? **2.68.20** evam uktā tu surabhiḥ surarājena dhīmatā patyuvāca tato dhīrā vākyaṃ vākyaviśāradā Addressed thus by the wise king of the gods, the steadfast Surabhi, skilled in speech, then answered him: **2.68.21** śāntaṃ pātaṃ na vaḥ kiṃ cit kutaś cid amarādhipa ahaṃ tu magnau śocāmi svaputrau viṣame sthitau May all calamity be averted — none at all threatens you from any quarter, O lord of the immortals; but I grieve for my two sunken sons, set in a hard plight. **2.68.22** etau dṛṣṭvā kṛṣau dīnau sūryaraśmipratāpinau vadhyamānau balīvardau karṣakeṇa surādhipa Seeing these two oxen, gaunt and wretched, scorched by the sun's rays and beaten by the ploughman, O lord of the gods — **2.68.23** mama kāyāt prasūtau hi duḥkhitau bhāra pīḍitau yau dṛṣṭvā paritapye 'haṃ nāsti putrasamaḥ priyaḥ For they were born of my own body, and now, distressed and crushed by their load — seeing them I burn with grief; there is none so dear as a son. **2.68.24** yasyāḥ putra sahasrāṇi sāpi śocati kāmadhuk kiṃ punar yā vinā rāmaṃ kausalyā vartayiṣyati Even the wish-yielding cow, who has thousands of sons, grieves thus; how much more, then, will Kausalyā, who must live on without Rāma? **2.68.25** ekaputrā ca sādhvī ca vivatseyaṃ tvayā kṛtā tasmāt tvaṃ satataṃ duḥkhaṃ pretya ceha ca lapsyase She had but one son and is virtuous, yet by you she has been made bereft of her child; therefore you will reap unending sorrow, both hereafter and here. **2.68.26** ahaṃ hy apacitiṃ bhrātuḥ pituś ca sakalām imām vardhanaṃ yaśasaś cāpi kariṣyāmi na saṃśayaḥ For I will render this whole honour due to my brother and my father, and increase their glory besides — of that there is no doubt. **2.68.27** ānāyayitvā tanayaṃ kausalyāyā mahādyutim svayam eva pravekṣyāmi vanaṃ muniniṣevitam Having had Kausalyā's son of great splendour brought back, I shall myself enter the forest frequented by sages. **2.68.28** iti nāga ivāraṇye tomarāṅkuśacoditaḥ papāta bhuvi saṃkruddho niḥśvasann iva pannagaḥ So saying, like a forest elephant goaded by lance and hook, he fell to the ground in fury, hissing like a serpent. **2.68.29** saṃraktanetraḥ śithilāmbaras tadā vidhūtasarvābharaṇaḥ paraṃtapaḥ babhūva bhūmau patito nṛpātmajaḥ śacīpateḥ ketur ivotsavakṣaye His eyes bloodshot, his robe loosened, all his ornaments cast off, that scorcher of foes, the prince, lay fallen upon the ground, like Indra's banner when the festival is over.