# Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 80 — Guha recounts Lakṣmaṇa’s vigil *Lakṣmaṇa refused sleep and feared for their parents, then crossed the Gaṅgā with Rāma & Sītā at dawn* Portion: Guha and the Gaṅgā crossing · Verses: 25 · Ref format: 2.80. ## Sequence - Guha recounts what happened when Rāma stayed at the river: he offered Lakṣmaṇa a bed and assured him that his men could guard the camp (80.1–9) - Lakṣmaṇa refused, saying he could not sleep while Rāma and Sītā lay on the ground (80.10–11) - he feared Daśaratha and Kausalyā would die of grief and that the King would never see Rāma installed (80.12–18) - he longed for all three travelers to return safely to Ayodhyā (80.19–22) - Guha says the night passed in this way, and at dawn he had the brothers arrange their matted locks and ferried them across with Sītā → carrying their weapons and dressed for the forest, they continued on foot (80.23–25). ## Verses **2.80.1** ācacakṣe 'tha sadbhāvaṃ lakṣmaṇasya mahātmanaḥ bharatāyāprameyāya guho gahanagocaraḥ Then Guha, dweller in the wilderness, recounted to the immeasurable Bharata the true devotion of the great-souled Lakṣmaṇa: **2.80.2** taṃ jāgrataṃ guṇair yuktaṃ varacāpeṣudhāriṇam bhrātṛ guptyartham atyantam ahaṃ lakṣmaṇam abravam Him — awake, endowed with virtues, bearing his fine bow and quiver, ceaselessly on guard for his brother — I, that Lakṣmaṇa, addressed: **2.80.3** iyaṃ tāta sukhā śayyā tvadartham upakalpitā pratyāśvasihi śeṣvāsyāṃ sukhaṃ rāghavanandana ‘This comfortable bed, dear sir, has been made ready for you; take your rest, lie upon it in ease, O delight of the Rāghavas.’ **2.80.4** ucito 'yaṃ janaḥ sarve duḥkhānāṃ tvaṃ sukhocitaḥ dharmātmaṃs tasya guptyarthaṃ jāgariṣyāmahe vayam ‘All this folk is inured to hardships, but you are accustomed to comfort; O righteous one, we shall keep watch for his protection.’ **2.80.5** na hi rāmāt priyataro mamāsti bhuvi kaś cana motsuko bhūr bravīmy etad apy asatyaṃ tavāgrataḥ ‘For there is no one on earth dearer to me than Rāma; do not be anxious — I tell you this, nor would I speak even a falsehood before you.’ **2.80.6** asya prasādād āśaṃse loke 'smin sumahad yaśaḥ dharmāvāptiṃ ca vipulām arthāvāptiṃ ca kevalām ‘By his grace I hope for very great fame in this world, and abundant attainment of dharma, and unqualified attainment of wealth.’ **2.80.7** so 'haṃ priyasakhaṃ rāmaṃ śayānaṃ saha sītayā rakṣiṣyāmi dhanuṣpāṇiḥ sarvaiḥ svair jñātibhiḥ saha ‘So I, bow in hand, together with all my own kinsmen, shall guard my dear friend Rāma as he sleeps with Sītā.’ **2.80.8** na hi me 'viditaṃ kiṃ cid vane 'smiṃś carataḥ sadā caturaṅgaṃ hy api balaṃ prasahema vayaṃ yudhi ‘For nothing here is unknown to me, who roam this forest constantly; indeed we could withstand even a fourfold army in battle.’ **2.80.9** evam asmābhir uktena lakṣmaṇena mahātmanā anunītā vayaṃ sarve dharmam evānupaśyatā Thus addressed by the great-souled Lakṣmaṇa, who looked only to dharma, all of us were won over. **2.80.10** kathaṃ dāśarathau bhūmau śayāne saha sītayā śakyā nidrāmayā labdhuṃ jīvitaṃ vā sukhāni vā ‘How, while the son of Daśaratha lies upon the ground with Sītā, could sleep be won by me, or life, or comforts?’ **2.80.11** yo na devāsuraiḥ sarvaiḥ śakyaḥ prasahituṃ yudhi taṃ paśya guha saṃviṣṭaṃ tṛṇeṣu saha sītayā ‘He whom not all the gods and demons together could overpower in battle — behold him, Guha, lying on the grass with Sītā!’ **2.80.12** mahatā tapasā labdho vividhaiś ca pariśramaiḥ eko daśarathasyaiṣa putraḥ sadṛśalakṣaṇaḥ ‘Won by great austerity and by manifold toils, this is the one son of Daśaratha who bears marks worthy of him.’ **2.80.13** asmin pravrājite rājā na ciraṃ vartayiṣyati vidhavā medinī nūnaṃ kṣipram eva bhaviṣyati ‘Now that he is exiled, the king will not live long; and the earth will surely, very soon, become a widow.’ **2.80.14** vinadya sumahānādaṃ śrameṇoparatāḥ striyaḥ nirghoṣoparataṃ nūnam adya rājaniveśanam ‘Having wailed one great cry, the women have fallen silent from exhaustion; surely by now the king's palace has grown still, its clamor hushed.’ **2.80.15** kausalyā caiva rājā ca tathaiva jananī mama nāśaṃse yadi te sarve jīveyuḥ śarvarīm imām ‘Kausalyā, and the king, and likewise my own mother — I do not think they will all live through this very night.’ **2.80.16** jīved api hi me mātā śatrughnasyānvavekṣayā duḥkhitā yā tu kausalyā vīrasūr vinaśiṣyati ‘My mother may yet live, out of regard for Śatrughna; but sorrowing Kausalyā, the mother of a hero, will perish.’ **2.80.17** atikrāntam atikrāntam anavāpya manoratham rājye rāmam anikṣipya pitā me vinaśiṣyati ‘All is undone, all is undone! Having failed to attain his heart's desire, and without installing Rāma in the kingship, my father will perish.’ **2.80.18** siddhārthāḥ pitaraṃ vṛttaṃ tasmin kāle hy upasthite pretakāryeṣu sarveṣu saṃskariṣyanti bhūmipam ‘When that time comes, those who have gained their ends will perform all the funeral rites for my deceased father, the king.’ **2.80.19** ramyacatvarasaṃsthānāṃ suvibhaktamahāpathām harmyaprāsādasaṃpannāṃ sarvaratnavibhūṣitām ‘That city with its lovely arrangement of squares, its well-laid-out highways, rich in mansions and palaces, adorned with every jewel; **2.80.20** gajāśvarathasaṃbādhāṃ tūryanādavināditām sarvakalyāṇasaṃpūrṇāṃ hṛṣṭapuṣṭajanākulām thronged with elephants, horses, and chariots, resounding with the blare of trumpets, full of every blessing, crowded with joyous, well-fed people; **2.80.21** ārāmodyānasaṃpūrṇāṃ samājotsavaśālinīm sukhitā vicariṣyanti rājadhānīṃ pitur mama full of pleasure-groves and gardens, graced with assemblies and festivals — through my father's royal capital they will happily wander (once more).’ **2.80.22** api satyapratijñena sārdhaṃ kuśalinā vayam nivṛtte samaye hy asmin sukhitāḥ praviśemahi ‘Would that, when this term of exile has run out, we might happily enter the city together with the one true to his word, safe and well!’ **2.80.23** paridevayamānasya tasyaivaṃ sumahātmanaḥ tiṣṭhato rājaputrasya śarvarī sātyavartata As that very great-souled prince stood thus lamenting, the night wore away. **2.80.24** prabhāte vimale sūrye kārayitvā jaṭā ubhau asmin bhāgīrathī tīre sukhaṃ saṃtāritau mayā When the sun rose bright and clear at dawn, I had the two of them make their hair into matted locks, and here at the bank of the Bhāgīrathī I ferried them safely across. **2.80.25** jaṭādharau tau drumacīravāsasau mahābalau kuñjarayūthapopamau vareṣucāpāsidharau paraṃtapau vyavekṣamāṇau saha sītayā gatau Those two, wearing matted locks, clad in bark garments, mighty as the leaders of elephant herds, bearing fine bows, arrows, and swords, scorchers of the foe, gazing about them, departed together with Sītā.