Valmiki Ramayana 2.88.4: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 88, Shloka 4
रामशय्यादर्शनम् · Bharata Beholds Rama’s Forest Bed
अजिनोत्तरसंस्तीर्णे वरास्तरणसंचये ।
शयित्वा पुरुषव्याघ्रः कथं शेते महीतले ॥४॥
ajinottarasaṃstīrṇe varāstaraṇasaṃcaye |
śayitvā puruṣavyāghraḥ kathaṃ śete mahītale ||4||
كيف لذاك النمر بين الرجال—الذي كان ينام على فراش نفيس، بطبقات من أغطية فاخرة ومفروش بجلد الظبي—أن يضطجع الآن على الأرض العارية؟
How could Rama, the best among men used to a bed made of a pile of excellent spreads and overspread with deer skin, sleep on the bare ground?
FAQs
The verse highlights dharma as a standard of just treatment: virtue and rightful status should not be violated by wrongful suffering. Bharata’s question condemns the moral disorder that has forced Rama into hardship.
Bharata is imagining Rama’s changed life in exile—moving from palace comfort to sleeping on the ground—intensifying his remorse and urgency.
Bharata’s loyalty and protective love for Rama, expressed through grief at Rama’s undeserved austerity.
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Valmiki Ramayana in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.