Valmiki Ramayana 2.69.10 — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 69, Shloka 10

भरतस्य दुःस्वप्नदर्शनम्

Bharata’s Ominous Dream

Devanagari script

ततस्तिलौदनं भुक्त्वा पुनः पुनरधश्शिराः।तैलेनाभ्यक्तसर्वाङ्गः तैलमेवान्वगाहत।।।।

Transliteration

tatas tilaudanaṃ bhuktvā punaḥ punar adhaḥ-śirāḥ | tailenābhyakta-sarvāṅgas tailam evānvagāhata || 2.69.10 ||

Translation

ثم رأيته يأكل أرزًّا مطبوخًا بالسمسم؛ وقد دُهِن جسده كلّه بالزيت، فكان يندفع مرارًا وتكرارًا، منكّس الرأس، إلى الزيت نفسه.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: thereafter
• tataḥ: Kriya-viseshana (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb); ‘thereafter’

• tila-odanam: sesame rice
• tila-odanam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tila (प्रातिपदिक) + odana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास: ‘तिलैः युक्तः ओदनः’ (sesame-rice); पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• bhuktvā: having eaten
• bhuktvā: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhuj (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (Gerund/Absolutive): ‘having eaten’

• punaḥ: again
• punaḥ: Kriya-viseshana (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

• punar: again
• punar: Kriya-viseshana (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punar (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb); पुनरुक्ति for emphasis

• adhaḥ-śirāḥ: with head downward
• adhaḥ-śirāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: adhaḥ (अव्यय) + śiras (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास: ‘अधः शिरः यस्य’ (head downward); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (of implied ‘saḥ’)

• tailena: with oil
• tailena: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: taila (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन

• abhyakta-sarvāṅgaḥ: whose whole body was anointed
• abhyakta-sarvāṅgaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: abhyakta (कृदन्त; √añj/√aṅj धातु, क्त with abhi-) + sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + aṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुव्रीहि-समास: ‘अभ्यक्तानि सर्वाणि अङ्गानि यस्य’ (whose whole body is smeared); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (of implied ‘saḥ’)

• tailam: oil
• tailam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: taila (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• eva: indeed/alone
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle); emphasis ‘alone/indeed’

• anvagāhata: entered, plunged
• anvagāhata: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gāh (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; उपसर्ग: anu-; अर्थ: ‘entered/plunged into’

Context

Thereafter I beheld him eating rice cooked with sesame seeds, his body besmeared with oil plunging again and again into it (the pool).

Characters & Entities

• Bharata

FAQs

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

The verse uses ominous imagery to indicate impending impurity and mourning; it warns that when dharma is disturbed, signs of disorder appear even in the psyche.

What is the narrative situation?

Within Bharata’s dream sequence, he witnesses disturbing ritual-like images associated with inauspiciousness and death.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

Moral intuition—Bharata’s mind registers the gravity of events before he learns the facts.