# Araṇya Kāṇḍa 55 — Rāma meets Lakṣmaṇa *Omens and the false cry make him fear a plot against Sītā, he reproaches Lakṣmaṇa for leaving her alone* Portion: The empty hut and the search for Sītā · Verses: 20 · Ref format: 3.55. ## Sequence - The narrative returns to Rāma after Mārīca's death: hurrying home, he hears an ominous jackal cry behind him (55.1–3) - he fears for Sītā and anticipates exactly how the deception may work—she may send Lakṣmaṇa away after hearing the imitation of his voice (55.4–6) - he suspects the deer was part of a coordinated rākṣasa plan against her and recalls the hostility created by Khara's defeat (55.7–9) - as he approaches Janasthāna, further disturbing animal behavior increases his foreboding (55.10–11) - he sees Lakṣmaṇa coming toward him (55.12–13) - taking his brother's left hand, he reproaches him for leaving Sītā alone (55.14–16) - he fears she has been killed or taken and explains that the deer revealed itself as a rākṣasa when it died (55.17–19) - his twitching left eye and deep unease make him increasingly certain that something has happened, although he does not yet know what (55.20). ## Verses **3.55.1** rākṣasaṃ mṛgarūpeṇa carantaṃ kāmarūpiṇam nihatya rāmo mārīcaṃ tūrṇaṃ pathi nyavartata Having slain the rākṣasa Mārīca, who could take any form at will and roamed about in the guise of a deer, Rāma turned back swiftly onto the path. **3.55.2** tasya saṃtvaramāṇasya draṣṭukāmasya maithilīm krūrasvaro 'tha gomāyur vinanādāsya pṛṣṭhataḥ As he hurried on, eager to see Maithilī, a jackal with a cruel voice then howled behind him. **3.55.3** sa tasya svaram ājñāya dāruṇaṃ romaharṣaṇam cintayām āsa gomāyoḥ svareṇa pariśaṅkitaḥ Recognizing that dreadful, hair-raising cry of the creature, he fell to brooding, alarmed by the jackal's voice. **3.55.4** aśubhaṃ bata manye 'haṃ gomāyur vāśyate yathā svasti syād api vaidehyā rākṣasair bhakṣaṇaṃ vinā "Alas, I think it bodes ill, the way the jackal howls; may it be well with Vaidehī, spared from being devoured by the rākṣasas." **3.55.5** mārīcena tu vijñāya svaram ālakṣya māmakam vikruṣṭaṃ mṛgarūpeṇa lakṣmaṇaḥ śṛṇuyād yadi "If Lakṣmaṇa should hear the cry that Mārīca, mimicking and marking my voice, uttered in the deer's form—" **3.55.6** sa saumitriḥ svaraṃ śrutvā tāṃ ca hitvātha maithilīm tayaiva prahitaḥ kṣipraṃ matsakāśam ihaiṣyati "—then that son of Sumitrā, hearing the cry and abandoning Maithilī, sent by her very self, will come here quickly to my side." **3.55.7** rākṣasaiḥ sahitair nūnaṃ sītāyā īpsito vadhaḥ kāñcanaś ca mṛgo bhūtvā vyapanīyāśramāt tu mām "Surely the rākṣasas, banded together, desired Sītā's death; and this one, becoming a golden deer, lured me away from the hermitage." **3.55.8** dūraṃ nītvā tu mārīco rākṣaso 'bhūc charāhataḥ hā lakṣmaṇa hato 'smīti yad vākyaṃ vyajahāra ha "Having led me far off, Mārīca the rākṣasa, struck by my arrow, uttered the words, 'Alas, Lakṣmaṇa, I am slain!'" **3.55.9** api svasti bhaved dvābhyāṃ rahitābhyāṃ mayā vane janasthānanimittaṃ hi kṛtavairo 'smi rākṣasaiḥ nimittāni ca ghorāṇi dṛśyante 'dya bahūni ca "May it be well with those two left without me in the forest; for on account of Janasthāna I have made enmity with the rākṣasas, and today many dreadful portents are seen." **3.55.10** ity evaṃ cintayan rāmaḥ śrutvā gomāyuniḥsvanam ātmanaś cāpanayanaṃ mṛgarūpeṇa rakṣasā ājagāma janasthānaṃ rāghavaḥ pariśaṅkitaḥ Brooding thus, having heard the jackal's cry and knowing his own being led away by the rākṣasa in the deer's form, Rāghava came to Janasthāna, filled with foreboding. **3.55.11** taṃ dīnamānasaṃ dīnam āsedur mṛgapakṣiṇaḥ savyaṃ kṛtvā mahātmānaṃ ghorāṃś ca sasṛjuḥ svarān Beasts and birds came up to him, downcast and low in spirit, and keeping the great one on their left, they let loose dreadful cries. **3.55.12** tāni dṛṣṭvā nimittāni mahāghorāṇi rāghavaḥ tato lakṣaṇam āyāntaṃ dadarśa vigataprabham Seeing those exceedingly dreadful portents, Rāghava then beheld Lakṣmaṇa coming toward him, his radiance gone. **3.55.13** tato 'vidūre rāmeṇa samīyāya sa lakṣmaṇaḥ viṣaṇṇaḥ sa viṣaṇṇena duḥkhito duḥkhabhāginā Then, not far off, that Lakṣmaṇa met with Rāma—the one dejected meeting the dejected, the one grieved meeting him who shared his grief. **3.55.14** saṃjagarhe 'tha taṃ bhrātā jeṣṭho lakṣmaṇam āgatam vihāya sītāṃ vijane vane rākṣasasevite Then the elder brother reproached that Lakṣmaṇa who had come, having left Sītā in the lonely forest haunted by rākṣasas. **3.55.15** gṛhītvā ca karaṃ savyaṃ lakṣmaṇaṃ raghunandanaḥ uvāca madhurodarkam idaṃ paruṣam ārtavat And grasping Lakṣmaṇa's left hand, the delight of the Raghus spoke these words—harsh yet sweet in their outcome, as one in distress: **3.55.16** aho lakṣmaṇa garhyaṃ te kṛtaṃ yat tvaṃ vihāya tām sītām ihāgataḥ saumya kaccit svasti bhaved iti "Ah, Lakṣmaṇa, blameworthy is this deed of yours, that you have left Sītā and come here, gentle one—can it be that all is well?" **3.55.17** na me 'sti saṃśayo vīra sarvathā janakātmajā vinaṣṭā bhakṣitā vāpa rākṣasair vanacāribhiḥ "I have no doubt, hero, that in every way the daughter of Janaka is lost, or devoured by the forest-roaming rākṣasas." **3.55.18** aśubhāny eva bhūyiṣṭhaṃ yathā prādurbhavanti me api lakṣmaṇa sītāyāḥ sāmagryaṃ prāpnuyāvahe "Since inauspicious signs mostly keep appearing to me—O Lakṣmaṇa, may we yet regain Sītā safe and whole!" **3.55.19** idaṃ hi rakṣomṛgasaṃnikāśaṃ pralobhya māṃ dūram anuprayātam hataṃ kathaṃ cin mahatā śrameṇa sa rākṣaso 'bhūn mriyamāṇa eva "For this creature, in the semblance of a rākṣasa-deer, lured me and made me follow it far; slain only with great effort, it turned into a rākṣasa in the very act of dying." **3.55.20** manaś ca me dīnam ihāprahṛṣṭaṃ cakṣuś ca savyaṃ kurute vikāram asaṃśayaṃ lakṣmaṇa nāsti sītā hṛtā mṛtā vā pathi vartate vā "And my mind here is downcast and cheerless, and my left eye is twitching; without a doubt, Lakṣmaṇa, Sītā is no more—she has been carried off, or killed, or is lost somewhere on the way."