Valmiki Ramayana 2.20.36 — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 20, Shloka 36

अयोध्याकाण्डे विंशः सर्गः

Rama Enters Kauśalyā’s Antaḥpura; Ritual Preparations and the Shock of Exile

Devanagari script

यदि पुत्र न जायेथा मम शोकाय राघव।न स्म दुःखमतो भूयः पश्येयमहमप्रजाः।।।।

Transliteration

yadi putra na jāyethā mama śokāya rāghava | na sma duḥkham ato bhūyaḥ paśyeyam aham aprajāḥ ||

Translation

O Sohn, o Rāghava—wärst du mir nicht geboren worden, um mir solchen Kummer zu bringen, so hätte ich, selbst als kinderlose Frau, keinen Schmerz sehen müssen, der größer ist als dieser.

Word by Word

• yadi: if
• yadi: Sambandha/Avyaya (अव्यय-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadi (अव्यय)
• Form: Conditional particle (शर्तबोधक)

• putra: O son
• putra: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: putra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Singular

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (प्रतिषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: Negation particle (निषेध)

• jāyethāḥ: were born
• jāyethāḥ: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √jan (धातु)
• Form: Liṅ (लिङ्, optative/vidhiliṅ), 2nd person (मध्यमपुरुष), Singular, Ātmanepada (आत्मनेपद); ‘you would be born’

• mama: for me/of me
• mama: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: Pronoun, Genitive (6th), Singular

• śokāya: for sorrow
• śokāya: Prayojana (प्रयोजन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śoka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Dative (4th), Singular; purpose/result

• rāghava: O Raghava
• rāghava: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rāghava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (प्रतिषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: Negation

• sma: indeed/ever
• sma: Sambandha/Avyaya (अव्यय-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sma (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निपात) used with past/conditional sense; here with optative for emphatic past possibility

• duḥkham: sorrow
• duḥkham: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: duḥkha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd), Singular; object of paśyeyam

• ataḥ: than this
• ataḥ: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: Ablatival adverb (तस्मात्-अर्थे) ‘than this/from this’

• bhūyaḥ: again/more
• bhūyaḥ: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bhūyaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb ‘more/further’

• paśyeyam: I would see
• paśyeyam: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dṛś (धातु)
• Form: Liṅ (optative), 1st person, Singular, Parasmaipada

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: Pronoun, Nominative (1st), Singular

• aprajāḥ: childless
• aprajāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a + prajā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular; ‘without offspring’ qualifying aham

Context

O my son, if you were not born to me, I, even as a woman without progeny, would not have experienced grief, more intense than this.

Characters & Entities

• Kausalyā
• Rāma

FAQs

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

The verse highlights the human cost that dharma can entail: Rāma’s adherence to truth and duty precipitates intense maternal suffering, showing that righteousness may demand painful sacrifice.

What is the narrative situation?

Kausalyā reacts to the impending exile by expressing that this grief surpasses even the sorrow traditionally associated with childlessness.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

Rāma’s implied commitment to satya and duty (even when it causes personal pain to loved ones) frames the background of Kausalyā’s lament.