Valmiki Ramayana 2.59.10: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 59, Shloka 10

एकोनषष्ठितमः सर्गः (Sarga 59): सुमन्त्रवाक्यं, अयोध्याविषादः, दाशरथिशोकसागरः

Spoken by Sumantra to King DaśarathaSetting: Forest

Devanagari script

न च सर्पन्ति सत्त्वानि व्यासा न प्रचरन्ति च ।

रामशोकाभिभूतं तन्निष्कूजमभवद्वनम् ॥१०॥

Recitation with translationValmiki Ramayana 2.59.10

Transliteration

na ca sarpanti sattvāni vyālā na pracaranti ca |

rāma-śokābhibhūtaṃ tan niṣkūjam abhavad vanam ||10||

Translation

Kein Wesen regte sich, und selbst die wilden Tiere streiften nicht mehr umher. Jener Wald, als wäre er von Kummer um Rāma überwältigt, wurde lautlos — ohne jeden Klang.

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Word by Word

• na: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: Negation particle (निषेध-निपात)
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)

• ca: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction/particle (समुच्चय/अन्वय)
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)

• sarpanti: move/creep
• Type: Verb
• Root: √sṛp (सृप् धातु)
• Form: Present tense (लट्), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Plural (बहुवचन), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद)
• Role: Kriyā (क्रिया)

• sattvāni: living beings
• Type: Noun
• Root: sattva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन)
• Role: Karta (कर्ता/subject)

• vyālāḥ: wild beasts
• Type: Noun
• Root: vyāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन)
• Role: Karta (कर्ता/subject)

• na: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: Negation particle (निषेध-निपात)
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)

• pracaranti: roam/range
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√car (चर् धातु)
• Form: Present tense (लट्), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Plural (बहुवचन), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद)
• Role: Kriyā (क्रिया)

• ca: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction (समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय)
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)

• rāma-śoka-abhibhūtam: overcome by grief for Rama
• Type: Adjective
• Root: rāma (प्रातिपदिक) + śoka (प्रातिपदिक) + abhibhūta (कृदन्त; abhi-√bhū भू, क्त)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); agrees with vanam; ‘overpowered by grief for Rama’
• Role: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Compound: Tatpurusha

• tat: that
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); demonstrative
• Role: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)

• niṣkūjam: silent (without sounds)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: niṣkūja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); predicate adjective with abhavat
• Role: Karma (कर्म/predicate complement)

• abhavat: became
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (भू धातु)
• Form: Imperfect (लङ्), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद)
• Role: Kriyā (क्रिया)

• vanam: forest
• Type: Noun
• Root: vana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Karma (कर्म/object of ‘became’ as predicate subject in Sanskrit usage)

Sandhi Notes

• rāmaśokābhibhūtam → rāma-śoka-abhibhūtam
• tanniṣkūjamabhavadvanam → tat niṣkūjam abhavat vanam

Context

No living being move about and even wild animals roam no more. Overwhelmed with grief on account of Rama a great silence pervades the forest.

The teaching

When the upholder of dharma is removed from sight, even the world’s ordinary harmony seems to falter—grief is not merely personal but communal and ecological.

Ethical theme

Sāmājika-duḥkha (collective sorrow)

For your practice

Contemplation (bhāvanā) on Rāma as dharma’s axis: cultivate empathy and steadiness when the world feels ‘silent’ through loss.

Mood and themes

Rasa

Karuna (compassion), with Shanta (peace)

Mood

Hushed, bereft, foreboding

Themes

• Dharma
• Satya
• Itihasa
• Ethics
• Pathos
• Nature symbolism

Symbolism

Relationships

Cross references

Meter and recitation

Characters & Entities

• Rāma
• forest (vana)

FAQs

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

It conveys that dharma is not merely personal but cosmic-social: when a righteous figure is wronged or removed, harmony appears disturbed, mirrored poetically in nature’s silence.

What is the narrative situation?

Sumantra describes the eerie stillness of the forest associated with Rāma’s departure, as if all beings share the sorrow.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

Rāma’s moral stature: his presence is portrayed as so dharmic that its absence affects the world around him.