Valmiki Ramayana 2.74.28 — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 74, Shloka 28
भरतस्य कैकेयी-गर्हा तथा सुरभि-दृष्टान्तः
Bharata’s Reproach of Kaikeyi and the Surabhi Exemplum
सदाऽप्रतिमवृत्तायाः लोकधारणकाम्यया।
श्रीमत्या गुणनित्याया स्स्वभावपरिचेष्टया।।2.74.27।।
यस्याः पुत्रसहस्राणि साऽपि शोचति कामधुक्।
किं पुनर्या विना रामं कौसल्या वर्तयिष्यति।।2.74.28।।
sadā ’pratimavṛttāyāḥ lokadhāraṇakāmyayā |
śrīmatyā guṇanityāyā svabhāvapariceṣṭayā ||
yasyāḥ putrasahasrāṇi sā ’pi śocati kāmadhuk |
kiṁ punar yā vinā rāmaṁ kausalyā vartayiṣyati ||
Stets darauf bedacht, die Welten zu tragen, und von unvergleichlichem Wandel, von Natur aus tugendhaft und gesegnet: Wenn selbst Kāmadhenu mit tausend Söhnen trauert, was dann Kausalyā ohne Rāma? Wie könnte sie dieselbe bleiben?
Wishing always to nourish the worlds Kamadhenu conducts herself with an unequalled character. In accordance with her nature, she has imbibed in herself eminent virtues. She is endowed with all prosperity. In spite of her thousand sons, she is weeping thus for her two bulls, what can one say of Kausalya separated from her only son Will she be her normal self again?'
FAQs
The repetition reinforces the ethical reading: the pain of separation from a righteous son is not weakness but a natural consequence of relational dharma.
A repeated/parallel transmission of the analogy between Surabhi’s grief and Kausalyā’s expected suffering without Rama.
The implied virtue is Rāma’s irreplaceability as a dharmic son, whose absence destabilizes the mother’s life and household order.
Ask anything about this verse
A free Google sign-in keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Valmiki Ramayana in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with audio, word-by-word meanings, and more.