Valmiki Ramayana 2.21.47: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 21, Shloka 47
अयोध्याकाण्डे एकविंशः सर्गः · Lakṣmaṇa’s militant counsel and Rāma’s dharma
based persuasion of Kausalyā
Spoken by Rama to KausalyaSetting: Ayodhya palace (implied)Places named: vanaImminent forest-exile with assurance of return
शोकस्सन्धार्यतां मात र्हृदये साधु मा शुचः ।
वनवासादिहैष्यामि पुनः कृत्वा पितुर्वचः ॥४७॥
śokaḥ sandhāryatāṃ mātar hṛdaye sādhu mā śucaḥ |
vanavāsād ihaiṣyāmi punaḥ kṛtvā pitur vacaḥ ||47||
Halte deinen Kummer, Mutter, weise in deinem Herzen zurück; betrübe dich nicht. Nachdem ich das Wort meines Vaters erfüllt habe, werde ich nach dem Waldaufenthalt wieder hierher zurückkehren.
Sandhi Notes
- शोकस्सन्धार्यताम् = शोकः + सन्धार्यताम्
- मातर्हृदये = मातः + हृदये
- वनवासादिह = वनवासात् + इह
- इहैष्यामि = इह + एष्यामि
- पितुर्वचः = पितुः + वचः
Do not grieve, O mother! Be prudent enough to subdue your sorrow in your heart. Having fulfilled father's words, I shall come back from my sojourn in the forest.
The teaching
Restrain grief with wisdom; dharma sometimes demands painful separation, but steadiness and promise of return sustain the heart.
Duties in tension
- Mother’s emotional need for son’s presence vs son’s duty to fulfill father’s command
- Personal compassion vs impersonal obligation to dharma
- Ethical theme
- Dharma (filial obedience tempered by compassion)
- How it resolves
- Compassionate reassurance while upholding pitṛ-ājñā
For your practice
Practice of śoka-nirodha and titikṣā; supports devotional surrender to dharma as divine order.
Mood and themes
- Rasa
- Karuna (compassion), with Shanta (peace)
- Mood
- Consoling, heart-held, steadfast
Themes
- Dharma
- Satya
- Consolation
- Filial duty
- Emotional discipline
Titikṣā (endurance of dualities) as a sādhana; holding grief without collapse aligns with inner steadiness.
Ethos of inner control and steadiness (dama/śama-like restraint) rather than outward agitation.
- Rama and Kausalya
- Son consoling grieving mother (compassionate-assuring)
- Rama and Dasharatha
- Son committed to father’s command (dutiful)
Bhagavad Gītā 2.14–2.15 (titikṣā; enduring sorrow); Rāmacaritamānasa, Ayodhyākāṇḍa: Rāma’s consolations to Kausalyā (parallel emotional register)
Dharmaśāstric ideal of obeying father’s command
Ayodhyākāṇḍa: repeated motif ‘pituḥ vacanam’ as binding dharma
Anuṣṭup (śloka)
Grieving yet steady
Soft, descending cadence on ‘mā śucaḥ’; firm resolution on ‘pituḥ vacaḥ’
FAQs
Dharma involves inner steadiness: sorrow must be governed, not allowed to derail righteous action. Fulfilling the father’s command is presented as the dharmic endpoint of the ordeal.
Kausalyā is overwhelmed; Rāma urges composure and reiterates that he will return after honoring Daśaratha’s command.
Compassionate firmness: Rāma acknowledges grief but teaches emotional restraint aligned with duty.
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