Ramayana — Yuddha Kanda, Sarga 32, Shloka 15

सीताविलापः

Sītā’s Lament over the Illusory Head and Bow

Devanagari script

तथात्वंसम्परिष्वज्यरौद्रयाऽतिनृशंसया ।काळरात्य्राममाच्छिद्यहृतःकमललोचन:।। 6.32.15।।

Transliteration

tathā tvaṃ sampariṣvajya raudrayā 'tinṛśaṃsayā | kāḷarātryā mamam ācchidya hṛtaḥ kamalalocanaḥ || 6.32.15 ||

Translation

So also, o Lotosäugiger—dich mir entreißend, hat jene wilde, überaus erbarmungslose «Dunkle Nacht» dich fortgetragen.

Word by Word

• tathā: thus
• tathā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (अव्यय), 'thus/so'

• tvam: you
• tvam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana

• sampariṣvajya: having embraced
• sampariṣvajya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-pari-svaj (धातु)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वान्त/ल्यप्), 'having embraced/clasped'

• raudrayā: by the fierce (one)
• raudrayā: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: raudrā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Tṛtīyā, Ekavacana; instrumental describing agent 'by the fierce (night)'

• atinṛśaṃsayā: by the most cruel (one)
• atinṛśaṃsayā: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ati-nṛśaṃsā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Tṛtīyā, Ekavacana; instrumental 'by the exceedingly cruel (one)'

• kāḷarātryā: by dark night (Kālarātrī)
• kāḷarātryā: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāḷarātrī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Tṛtīyā, Ekavacana; instrumental agent 'by Kālarātrī (dark night/personified)'

• mām: me
• mām: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Dvitīyā, Ekavacana; object of 'ācchidya' (cut off from me)

• ācchidya: having severed
• ācchidya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-chid (धातु)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वान्त/ल्यप्), 'having cut off/severed'

• hṛtaḥ: taken away
• hṛtaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: hṛ (धातु)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त), Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; predicate 'taken away' (i.e., killed/removed)

• kamalalocanaḥ: lotus-eyed one
• kamalalocanaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kamala + locana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; bahuvrīhi epithet 'he whose eyes are like lotuses'

Context

"O lotus-eyed Rama! After you have lost contact with me, the most horrible cruel night has killed you cutting you off from me."

Characters & Entities

• Sita
• Rama
• Kāḷarātri (personified dark night)

FAQs

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

The verse dramatizes the cost borne by dharmic struggle: righteous action can entail separation and suffering, which must be endured without abandoning moral truth.

What is the narrative situation?

Sita poetically attributes Rama’s apparent death to a personified force of darkness, emphasizing violent separation.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

Sita’s constancy in love and her capacity to articulate grief without blaming Rama’s dharma.