Valmiki Ramayana 2.18.27: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 18, Shloka 27

अष्टादशः सर्गः

Kaikeyī Discloses the Boons: Exile to Daṇḍaka and Bharata’s Consecration

Devanagari script

एतत्तु वचनं श्रुत्वा कैकेय्या समुदाहृतम्।उवाच व्यथितो रामस्तां देवीं नृपसन्निधौ।।।।

Sanskrit recitationValmiki Ramayana 2.18.27

Transliteration

etat tu vacanaṃ śrutvā kaikeyyā samudāhṛtam | uvāca vyathito rāmas tāṃ devīṃ nṛpa-sannidhau ||

Translation

فلما سمع راما هذه الكلمات التي نطقت بها كايكَيِي، خاطب تلك الملكة وهو مضطربٌ في حضرة الملك.

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Word by Word

• etat: this
• etat: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun, neuter, accusative singular; qualifies ‘vacanaṃ’

• tu: but
• tu: Sambandha-bodhaka (सम्बन्ध/विरोधसूचक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle

• vacanam: speech / words
• vacanam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vacana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, accusative singular; object of ‘śrutvā’ (having heard)

• śrutvā: having heard
• śrutvā: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śru (धातु)
• Form: Gerund (क्त्वा), ‘having heard’

• kaikeyyā: by Kaikeyi
• kaikeyyā: Karaṇa/Agent (करण/कर्तृ in passive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kaikeyī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, instrumental singular

• samudāhṛtam: uttered
• samudāhṛtam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam + ud + ā + hṛ (धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त), neuter accusative singular; qualifies ‘vacanam’

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: Perfect (लिट्), 3rd person singular, parasmaipada

• vyathitaḥ: distressed
• vyathitaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vyathita (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, nominative singular; qualifies ‘rāmaḥ’

• rāmaḥ: Rama
• rāmaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, nominative singular

• tām: that
• tām: Karma (कर्म) (addressee as object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun, feminine, accusative singular; qualifies ‘devīṃ’

• devīm: queen / lady
• devīm: Karma (कर्म) (person addressed)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, accusative singular

• nṛpasannidhau: in the king's presence
• nṛpasannidhau: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛpa + sannidhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Compound: nṛpa + sannidhi (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष ‘presence of the king’); masculine, locative singular

Context

Very much depressed on hearing the words of Kaikeyi, Rama thus said to her in the presence of the king:

Characters & Entities

• Rāma
• Kaikeyī
• Daśaratha (king)

FAQs

What is the core ethical principle (Dharma) in this verse?

The verse frames a dharmic crisis: Rāma’s distress signals the weight of conflicting duties—obedience to the king’s word versus the moral shock of the demand’s implications.

What is the narrative situation?

This is a transition marker: after Kaikeyī’s pressure, Rāma responds directly to her while Daśaratha is present.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

Rāma’s emotional honesty coupled with restraint: even distressed, he speaks formally and within courtly decorum.