Shloka 14
पिण्डदानदर्शनम्
The Queens Behold Rama’s Śrāddha Offering
रामेणेङ्गुदिपिण्याकं पितुर्दत्तं समीक्ष्य मे।कथं दुःखेन हृदयं न स्फोटति सहस्रधा।।2.103.14।।
rāmeṇeṅgudipiṇyākaṃ pitur dattaṃ samīkṣya me | kathaṃ duḥkhena hṛdayaṃ na sphoṭati sahasradhā ||
Als ich sah, wie Rāma seinem Vater einen schlichten Kuchen aus iṅgudī-Mark darbrachte, wie zerbricht mein Herz nicht vor Kummer in tausend Stücke?
Seeing the offering of cake of ingudi pulp by Rama to his father, how is it that my heart does not break into a thousand pieces in sorrow?
FAQs
The verse highlights filial dharma: Rama continues to honor his father through offerings, even in hardship; the mother’s grief underscores the cost of righteousness when lived without compromise.
Kausalya, distressed in exile-time events, sees Rama making a humble food-offering to Dasaratha and is overwhelmed by the contrast between royal life and forest austerity.
Rama’s steadfast dutifulness—maintaining reverence and ritual obligation toward his father despite exile and deprivation.