# Araṇya Kāṇḍa 56 — Return to the empty hut *Rāma imagines Sītā’s loss and its consequences, hurries back with Lakṣmaṇa and finds their dwelling deserted* Portion: The empty hut and the search for Sītā · Verses: 20 · Ref format: 3.56. ## Sequence - Rāma repeatedly asks where Sītā is, recalling how she shared his exile and saying that no Kingdom could compensate for losing her (56.1–6) - he imagines his own death, Kausalyā's further suffering, and Kaikeyī's satisfaction → he says he cannot live if Sītā does not greet him at the hermitage (56.7–12) - he suspects that the false cry frightened Sītā into sending Lakṣmaṇa away and that this gave their enemies an opportunity (56.13–16) - distressed and uncertain what to do, he hurries with Lakṣmaṇa to Janasthāna (56.17–18) - exhausted, thirsty, and still reproaching his brother, he reaches the empty dwelling → the familiar places where they lived together intensify his grief (56.19–20). ## Verses **3.56.1** sa dṛṣṭvā lakṣmaṇaṃ dīnaṃ śūnye daśarathātmajaḥ paryapṛcchata dharmātmā vaidehīm āgataṃ vinā Seeing Lakṣmaṇa dejected and alone, that righteous son of Daśaratha questioned him, come without Vaidehī: **3.56.2** prasthitaṃ daṇḍakāraṇyaṃ yā mām anujagāma ha kva sā lakṣmaṇa vaidehī yāṃ hitvā tvam ihāgataḥ She who followed me as I set out for the Daṇḍaka forest—where is she, Lakṣmaṇa, that Vaidehī, whom you have left to come here? **3.56.3** rājyabhraṣṭasya dīnasya daṇḍakān paridhāvataḥ kva sā duḥkhasahāyā me vaidehī tanumadhyamā Where is she, my companion in sorrow, slender-waisted Vaidehī—companion to me, fallen from kingship, wretched, roaming the Daṇḍaka wilds? **3.56.4** yāṃ vinā notsahe vīra muhūrtam api jīvitum kva sā prāṇasahāyā me sītā surasutopamā Without whom I cannot bear to live even a moment, O hero—where is she, my life's companion, Sītā, like a daughter of the gods? **3.56.5** patitvam amarāṇāṃ vā pṛthivyāś cāpi lakṣmaṇa vinā tāṃ tapanīyābhāṃ neccheyaṃ janakātmajām Even lordship over the immortals or over the earth, Lakṣmaṇa, I would not want without her, the gold-hued daughter of Janaka. **3.56.6** kaccij jīvati vaidehī prāṇaiḥ priyatarā mama kaccit pravrājanaṃ saumya na me mithyā bhaviṣyati Is Vaidehī, dearer to me than my own life, still alive? Gentle one, will my exile not prove to have been in vain? **3.56.7** sītānimittaṃ saumitre mṛte mayi gate tvayi kaccit sakāmā sukhitā kaikeyī sā bhaviṣyati O son of Sumitrā, if I die on account of Sītā and you too are gone, will that Kaikeyī have her wish fulfilled and be happy? **3.56.8** saputrarājyāṃ siddhārthāṃ mṛtaputrā tapasvinī upasthāsyati kausalyā kaccin saumya na kaikayīm Will not the wretched Kausalyā, her son dead, have to wait upon Kaikeyī, whose son now holds the kingdom and whose aims are accomplished, gentle one? **3.56.9** yadi jīvati vaidehī gamiṣyāmy āśramaṃ punaḥ suvṛttā yadi vṛttā sā prāṇāṃs tyakṣyāmi lakṣmaṇa If Vaidehī is alive I will go back to the hermitage; but if that virtuous woman has perished, I too will give up my life, Lakṣmaṇa. **3.56.10** yadi mām āśramagataṃ vaidehī nābhibhāṣate punaḥ prahasitā sītā vinaśiṣyāmi lakṣmaṇa If, when I reach the hermitage, Vaidehī with her sweet smile does not speak to me again, I shall perish, Lakṣmaṇa. **3.56.11** brūhi lakṣmaṇa vaidehī yadi jīvati vā na vā tvayi pramatte rakṣobhir bhakṣitā vā tapasvinī Tell me, Lakṣmaṇa, whether Vaidehī is alive or not, or whether the poor woman was devoured by the rākṣasas while you were off your guard. **3.56.12** sukumārī ca bālā ca nityaṃ cāduḥkhadarśinī madviyogena vaidehī vyaktaṃ śocati durmanāḥ Delicate and young and never having known sorrow, Vaidehī surely grieves, downcast, at being parted from me. **3.56.13** sarvathā rakṣasā tena jihmena sudurātmanā vadatā lakṣmaṇety uccais tavāpi janitaṃ bhayam Assuredly, by that crooked and utterly evil-souled rākṣasa crying out 'Lakṣmaṇa!' aloud, fear was stirred up even in you. **3.56.14** śrutaś ca śaṅke vaidehyā sa svaraḥ sadṛśo mama trastayā preṣitas tvaṃ ca draṣṭuṃ māṃ śīghram āgataḥ That voice, so like mine, was heard by Vaidehī, I suspect; and, terrified, she sent you, and you came quickly to see me. **3.56.15** sarvathā tu kṛtaṃ kaṣṭaṃ sītām utsṛjatā vane pratikartuṃ nṛśaṃsānāṃ rakṣasāṃ dattam antaram In every way a grievous wrong has been done by abandoning Sītā in the forest; an opening has been given to the cruel rākṣasas to strike back. **3.56.16** duḥkhitāḥ kharaghātena rākṣasāḥ piśitāśanāḥ taiḥ sītā nihatā ghorair bhaviṣyati na saṃśayaḥ The flesh-eating rākṣasas, aggrieved by the slaying of Khara—by those dreadful ones Sītā will have been slain, there is no doubt. **3.56.17** aho 'smi vyasane magnaḥ sarvathā ripunāśana kiṃ tv idānīṃ kariṣyāmi śaṅke prāptavyam īdṛśam Ah, I am utterly sunk in calamity, O destroyer of foes! But what shall I do now? I fear such was the fate destined to befall me. **3.56.18** iti sītāṃ varārohāṃ cintayann eva rāghavaḥ ājagāma janasthānaṃ tvarayā sahalakṣmaṇaḥ Thus brooding on the shapely Sītā, Rāghava, together with Lakṣmaṇa, came in haste to Janasthāna. **3.56.19** vigarhamāṇo 'nujam ārtarūpaṃ kṣudhā śramāc caiva pipāsayā ca viniḥśvasañ śuṣkamukho viṣaṇṇaḥ pratiśrayaṃ prāpya samīkṣya śūnyam Reproaching his younger brother, who looked distressed, sighing from hunger, weariness, and thirst, dry-mouthed and dejected, he reached the dwelling and beheld it empty. **3.56.20** svam āśramaṃ saṃpravigāhya vīro vihāradeśān anusṛtya kāṃś cit etat tad ity eva nivāsabhūmau prahṛṣṭaromā vyathito babhūva Entering his own hermitage and retracing some of their old haunts—'here it is, that very spot'—on the ground where they had dwelt, his hair bristling, the hero became stricken with grief.