Shloka 4

Śrī Rāmacandra-avatāra — Vow, Exile, Laṅkā-vijaya, and Rāma-rājya

Concise Bhāgavata Account

Devanagari script

गुर्वर्थे त्यक्तराज्यो व्यचरदनुवनं पद्मपद्भ्यां प्रियाया: पाणिस्पर्शाक्षमाभ्यां मृजितपथरुजो यो हरीन्द्रानुजाभ्याम् । वैरूप्याच्छूर्पणख्या: प्रियविरहरुषारोपितभ्रूविजृम्भ- त्रस्ताब्धिर्बद्धसेतु: खलदवदहन: कोसलेन्द्रोऽवतान्न: ॥ ४ ॥

Transliteration

gurv-arthe tyakta-rājyo vyacarad anuvanaṁ padma-padbhyāṁ priyāyāḥ pāṇi-sparśākṣamābhyāṁ mṛjita-patha-rujo yo harīndrānujābhyām vairūpyāc chūrpaṇakhyāḥ priya-viraha-ruṣāropita-bhrū-vijṛmbha- trastābdhir baddha-setuḥ khala-dava-dahanaḥ kosalendro ’vatān naḥ

Translation

To uphold His father’s vow and fulfill His duty to the guru, Lord Rāmacandra at once renounced the throne and wandered from forest to forest with His beloved Sītā upon lotus feet so tender they seemed unable to bear even the touch of her palms; the monkey-king and His younger brother Lakṣmaṇa relieved His weariness. After disfiguring Śūrpaṇakhā by cutting off her nose and ears, and angered by separation from Sītā, He merely arched His brows and terrified the ocean, which then allowed a bridge to be built; thereafter He consumed Rāvaṇa’s realm like a fire devouring a forest. May Śrī Rāmacandra, lord of Kosala, protect us all.

Synonyms

• guru-arthe: for the sake of the teacher
• guru-arthe: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण) (purpose context)
• Type: Noun
• Root: guru (प्रातिपदिक) + artha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṁliṅga, Locative (7 विभक्ति), Singular; tatpuruṣa: guroḥ arthe ‘for the sake of the teacher’ (purpose-locative)

• tyakta-rājyaḥ: having renounced the kingdom
• tyakta-rājyaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tyakta (कृदन्त; √tyaj त्यज्, क्त) + rājya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṁliṅga, Nominative, Singular; tatpuruṣa: tyaktaṃ rājyaṃ yena saḥ (could be analyzed as bahuvrīhi in sense, but form functions as adjective ‘having abandoned kingdom’); agrees with kosalendraḥ

• vyacarat: wandered
• vyacarat: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-√car (चर्; धातु)
• Form: Laṅ-lakāra (लङ्, Imperfect), Parasmaipada, Prathama-puruṣa, Ekavacana

• anuvanam: through the forest(s)
• anuvanam: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध) (adverbial of place)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: anu (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + vana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyayībhāva: anu + vanam → anuvanam; used adverbially ‘through the forests’

• padma-padbhyām: with (his) lotus-feet
• padma-padbhyām: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: padma (प्रातिपदिक) + pad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka? (padma as neuter) + pad (napuṁsaka/puṁ? here ‘feet’ napuṁsaka plural dual instr.); overall: Instrumental (3 विभक्ति), Dual (द्विवचन) of pad (पाद) with qualifier padma ‘lotus-like’; karmadhāraya ‘lotus-feet’

• priyāyāḥ: of (his) beloved (Sītā)
• priyāyāḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: priyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Genitive (6 विभक्ति), Singular

• pāṇi-sparśa-akṣamābhyām: (two) too tender to bear hand-touch
• pāṇi-sparśa-akṣamābhyām: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāṇi (प्रातिपदिक) + sparśa (प्रातिपदिक) + akṣamā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Instrumental (3 विभक्ति), Dual; tatpuruṣa: pāṇi-sparśe akṣamā ‘unable to bear the touch of the hand’; qualifies priyāyāḥ (implied ‘with her two [feet]...’ or ‘by the two [hands]...’—context: tender hands/feet)

• mṛjita-patha-rujaḥ: whose travel-pains were soothed/removed
• mṛjita-patha-rujaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mṛjita (कृदन्त; √mṛj मृज्, क्त) + patha (प्रातिपदिक) + ruj (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Genitive, Singular (agreeing with priyāyāḥ); tatpuruṣa: patha-rujaḥ mṛjitāḥ yasyāḥ ‘whose pains of the path were wiped away’

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṁliṅga, Nominative, Singular; relative pronoun referring to kosalendraḥ

• harīndra-anujābhyām: with the two younger brothers of the monkey-king
• harīndra-anujābhyām: Sahakāraka (सहकारक) / Karaṇa (करण) (companionship/instrumental)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hari-indra (प्रातिपदिक) + anuja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṁliṅga, Instrumental, Dual; tatpuruṣa: harīndrayoḥ anujau ‘younger brothers of the lord of monkeys’ (i.e., Sugrīva’s younger? commonly: Lakṣmaṇa and others as ‘younger brothers’—here likely ‘with the two younger brothers of the lord of monkeys’ = with Lakṣmaṇa and (Hanumān?) contextually; grammatically dual instrumental)

• vairūpyāt: from disfigurement
• vairūpyāt: Hetu (हेतु) / Apādāna (अपादान) (cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vairūpya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka, Ablative (5 विभक्ति), Singular

• śūrpaṇakhyāḥ: from Śūrpaṇakhā
• śūrpaṇakhyāḥ: Apādāna (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śūrpaṇakhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Ablative (5 विभक्ति), Singular (Vedic/epic variant; classical would often show -yāḥ as gen/abl; here taken as ablative ‘from Śūrpaṇakhā’)

• priya-viraha-ruṣā-āropita-bhrū-vijṛmbha: (with) brows raised in anger from separation from the beloved
• priya-viraha-ruṣā-āropita-bhrū-vijṛmbha: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण) (qualifies trastābdhiḥ)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: priya (प्रातिपदिक) + viraha (प्रातिपदिक) + ruṣā (प्रातिपदिक) + āropita (कृदन्त; ā-√ruh/rop? here ā-√ruh/√rop ‘to raise’, क्त) + bhrū (प्रातिपदिक) + vijṛmbha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Compound used as qualifier in next word; internal tatpuruṣa chain: ‘brow-frown (bhrū-vijṛmbha) raised (āropita) by anger (ruṣā) due to separation from the beloved (priya-viraha)’; (stem) functioning adjectivally

• trastābdhiḥ: he who made the ocean tremble
• trastābdhiḥ: Karta (कर्ता) (as epithet in apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: trasta (कृदन्त; √tras त्रस्, क्त) + abdhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṁliṅga, Nominative, Singular; bahuvrīhi: ‘he by whom the ocean was frightened’ / ‘whose ocean was frightened’; epithet of Rāma

• baddha-setuḥ: builder of the bridge (to Laṅkā)
• baddha-setuḥ: Karta (कर्ता) (epithet)
• Type: Noun
• Root: baddha (कृदन्त; √bandh बन्ध्, क्त) + setu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṁliṅga, Nominative, Singular; bahuvrīhi: ‘he whose bridge was built’ / ‘bridge-builder’

• khala-dava-dahanaḥ: destroyer of the wicked (like a forest fire)
• khala-dava-dahanaḥ: Karta (कर्ता) (epithet)
• Type: Noun
• Root: khala (प्रातिपदिक) + dava (प्रातिपदिक) + dahana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṁliṅga, Nominative, Singular; tatpuruṣa: khala-davaḥ (forest-fire of the wicked) tasya dahanaḥ ‘the burner/extinguisher of the wicked-forest-fire’ (context: destroyer of wicked like a fire)

• kosalendraḥ: the lord of Kosala (Rāma)
• kosalendraḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kosala (प्रातिपदिक) + indra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṁliṅga, Nominative, Singular; tatpuruṣa: kosalānām indraḥ ‘lord of Kosala’

• avatāt: may (he) protect
• avatāt: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ava-√tā (ता/त्रा; धातु)
• Form: Loṭ-lakāra (लोट्, Imperative/benedictive sense), Parasmaipada, Prathama-puruṣa, Ekavacana

• naḥ: us
• naḥ: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Genitive (6 विभक्ति) / Accusative (2 विभक्ति), Plural; enclitic pronoun ‘us/our’ (here object of protection)

Characters & Entities

• Śrī Rāma
• Sītā
• Lakṣmaṇa
• Hanumān
• Śūrpaṇakhā

FAQs

What does Srimad Bhagavatam say about Lord Rama’s obedience to the guru’s order?

This verse praises Rāma for giving up His kingdom to fulfill the guru’s purpose, presenting guru-sevā and obedience to dharma as divine qualities worthy of remembrance and worship.

Why does this verse mention Sītā’s lotus-feet and the service of Lakṣmaṇa and Hanumān?

It highlights the tenderness of Sītā’s feet during exile and glorifies the loving service of Rāma’s devotees—Lakṣmaṇa and Hanumān—who relieved the hardships of the journey.

What is the practical application of this shloka in modern life?

Practice dharma through sacrifice, honor spiritual guidance, and cultivate devotional service—supporting loved ones and serving the Lord’s mission with steadiness, as Lakṣmaṇa and Hanumān did.