Valmiki Ramayana 2.21.15: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 21, Shloka 15

अयोध्याकाण्डे एकविंशः सर्गः · Lakṣmaṇa’s militant counsel and Rāma’s dharma

based persuasion of Kausalyā

Spoken by Lakṣmaṇa to RamaSetting: अयोध्या

Devanagari script

त्वया चैव मया चैव कृत्वा वैरमनुत्तमम् ।

काऽस्य शक्तिश्श्रियं दातुं भरतायारिशासन ॥१५॥

Recitation with translationValmiki Ramayana 2.21.15

Transliteration

tvayā caiva mayā caiva kṛtvā vairam anuttamam |

kā 'sya śaktiḥ śriyaṃ dātuṃ bharatāyāriśāsana ||15||

Translation

German

O Bezwinger der Feinde, welche Macht hat er, Bharata königlichen Glanz zu verleihen, nachdem er die schwerste Feindschaft von dir—und auch von mir—heraufbeschworen hat?

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Word by Word

• tvayā: by you/with you
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tṛtīyā vibhakti (3rd/तृतीया), Ekavacana; pronoun
• Role: Karaṇa (करण)

• ca: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Samuccaya-avyaya (समुच्चयार्थक) conjunction ‘and’
• Role: Sambandha (connector)

• eva: indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Avadhāraṇa-avyaya (अवधारण) particle ‘indeed/just’
• Role: Nipāta (निपात)

• mayā: by me/with me
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tṛtīyā vibhakti, Ekavacana; pronoun
• Role: Karaṇa (करण)

• ca: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Sam uccaya-avyaya conjunction
• Role: Sambandha (connector)

• eva: indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Avadhāraṇa particle
• Role: Nipāta (निपात)

• kṛtvā: having made
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: Ktvānta absolutive; ‘having done/made’
• Role: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (adverbial)

• vairam: enmity/hostility
• Type: Noun
• Root: vaira (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka, Dvitīyā, Ekavacana
• Role: Karma (कर्म)

• anuttamam: most grievous/unsurpassed
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anuttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka, Dvitīyā, Ekavacana; agrees with vairam; ‘unsurpassed/very great’ (here: grievous)
• Role: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)

• kā: what (kind of)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; interrogative used predicatively
• Role: Prashna (प्रश्न)

• asya: of him/his
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Ṣaṣṭhī vibhakti, Ekavacana; pronoun
• Role: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (genitive relation)

• śaktiḥ: power/ability
• Type: Noun
• Root: śakti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)

• śriyam: royal fortune/kingdom
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Dvitīyā, Ekavacana
• Role: Karma (कर्म)

• dātum: to give
• Type: Verb
• Root: dā (धातु)
• Form: Tumunanta infinitive
• Role: Prayojana/Anukriyā

• bharatāya: to Bharata
• Type: Noun
• Root: bharata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pumliṅga, Caturthī, Ekavacana
• Role: Sampradāna (recipient)

• ariśāsana: O chastiser of foes
• Type: Noun
• Root: ari + śāsana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pumliṅga, Sambodhana, Ekavacana; ṣaṣṭhī-tatpuruṣa ‘chastiser of foes’
• Role: Sambodhana (vocative)
• Compound: Tatpurusha

Sandhi Notes

• caiva = ca + eva
• kā'sya = kā + asya
• śaktiśśriyam = śaktiḥ + śriyam (visarga→ś before ś)
• dātuṅ = dātum (anusvāra before consonant in some recensions)

Context

What authority, O Rama, chastiser of foes, this king has to bestow the kingdom upon Bharata by entering into undesirable hostility towards you and me?

The teaching

Duties in tension

• पितृ-आज्ञा बनाम क्षात्र-प्रतिरोध
• भ्रातृ-रक्षा
• राज्य-स्थिरता बनाम अन्याय-प्रतिशोध

Ethical theme

क्षात्रधर्म बनाम पितृधर्म

How it resolves

Escalation (frames issue as hostility and power contest)

Mood and themes

Rasa

Raudra (fury), with Vira (heroism)

Mood

Defiant, protective, accusatory

Themes

• Dharma
• Ethics
• Rājadharma
• Krodha (anger)
• Satya

Symbolism

Cross references

Meter and recitation

Characters & Entities

• Rāma
• Bharata
• Daśaratha (implied by 'he')

FAQs

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

It foregrounds the ethics of legitimacy and consent in rulership, but also warns implicitly that anger and threats of violence can themselves become adharma.

What is the narrative situation?

Lakṣmaṇa asserts that the king’s decision will create enmity and conflict, questioning the feasibility and righteousness of giving the kingdom to Bharata.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

Fearless devotion and readiness to defend Rāma—though expressed through confrontational, warlike resolve.