लक्ष्मणोपदेशः — Lakshmana Consoles Rama on Fate, Fortitude, and Right Action
अरण्यकाण्ड
Sarga 66 presents a concentrated counsel-scene (upadeśa) delivered by Lakshmana to Rama in the immediate aftermath of overwhelming grief. Rama is depicted as sorrow-stricken, weeping “like an orphan,” deluded, and momentarily incapacitated; Lakshmana consoles him physically and verbally by pressing Rama’s feet and reawakening his discernment. The argument proceeds by exempla and cosmic analogy: even the Sun and Moon undergo eclipse; great beings and even gods cannot escape daiva (fate); justice and its counter-movements are heard to operate even among deities such as Indra. Lakshmana then reframes Rama’s lament as unbefitting a truth-seeing leader, urging intellectual assessment (buddhi) to distinguish auspicious from inauspicious and to recognize that stable, discerning action is required for desired results. He recalls Rama’s prior instruction to him, praises Rama’s near-unfathomable intellect, and insists grief has merely ‘put knowledge to sleep.’ The counsel culminates in strategic restraint: assess divine and human prowess, avoid indiscriminate destruction, identify the sinful enemy precisely, and then uproot him—redirecting sorrow into disciplined action.
Verse 3.66.1
तं तथा शोकसन्तप्तं विलपन्तमनाथवत्।मोहेन महताविष्टं परिद्यूनमचेतनम्।।3.66.1।।ततस्सौमित्रिराश्वास्य मुहूर्तादिव लक्ष्मणः।रामं सम्बोधयामास चरणौ चाभिपीडयन्।।3.66.2।।
Seeing Rama consumed by grief—wailing helplessly like one without refuge, overwhelmed by profound bewilderment, sunk in misery and as if senseless—Lakshmana, son of Sumitra, quickly tried to console him. In supplication and service he pressed Rama’s feet and spoke to rouse him from his collapse.
Verse 3.66.2
तं तथा शोकसन्तप्तं विलपन्तमनाथवत्।मोहेन महताविष्टं परिद्यूनमचेतनम्।।3.66.1।।ततस्सौमित्रिराश्वास्य मुहूर्तादिव लक्ष्मणः।रामं सम्बोधयामास चरणौ चाभिपीडयन्।।3.66.2।।
Then Lakshmana, son of Sumitra, after consoling him as if in a moment, pressed Rama’s feet and began to rouse him and address him.
Verse 3.66.3
महता तपसा राम महता चापि कर्मणा।राज्ञा दशरथेनासि लब्धोऽमृतमिवामरैः।।3.66.3।।
Bound to you by your very virtues, the king—the lord of the earth—on being separated from you attained the state of the gods, as we have heard from Bharata.
Verse 3.66.4
तव चैव गुणैर्बद्धस्त्वद्वियोगान्महीपतिः।राजा देवत्वमापन्नो भरतस्य यथाश्रुतम्।।3.66.4।।
O Kakutstha, if you will not endure this sorrow that has come upon you, who else—an ordinary person of little strength—could endure it?
Verse 3.66.5
यदि दुःखमिदं प्राप्तं काकुत्स्थ न सहिष्यसे।प्राकृतश्चाल्पसत्त्वश्च इतरः कस्सहिष्यति।।3.66.5।।
For if you, in grief, were to scorch the worlds with your splendor, O tiger among men, where would the afflicted people find peace?
Verse 3.66.6
दुःखितो हि भवान्लोकांस्तेजसा यदि धक्ष्यते।आर्ताः प्रजा नरव्याघ्र क्व नु यास्यन्ति निर्वृतिम्।।3.66.6।।
This is indeed the way of the world: Yayati, son of Nahusha, attained the same realm as Indra, yet misfortune touched him because of a curse.
Verse 3.66.7
लोकस्वभाव एवैष ययातिर्नहुषात्मजः।गतश्शक्रेण सालोक्यमनयस्तं समस्पृशत्।।3.66.7।।
Even the great sage Vasistha—our father’s family priest—had a hundred sons born in a single day; and in the same manner, they were again slain.
Verse 3.66.8
महर्षिर्यो वसिष्ठस्तु यः पितुर्नः पुरोहितः।अह्ना पुत्रशतं जज्ञे तथैवास्य पुनर्हतम्।।3.66.8।।
Even this Earth—mother of the worlds, a goddess revered by all—may be seen to tremble at times, O you whose fame is grounded in truth.
Verse 3.66.9
या चेयं जगतां माता देवी लोकनमस्कृता।अस्याश्च चलनं भूमेर्दृश्यते सत्यसंश्रव।।3.66.9।।
O bull among the Ikshvakus, first assess your own prowess—both divine and human—and then strive for the slaying of your foes.
Verse 3.66.10
यौ धर्मौ जगतां नेत्रौ यत्र सर्वं प्रतिष्ठितम्।आदित्यचन्द्रौ ग्रहणमभ्युपेतौ महाबलौ।।3.66.10।।
Even the mighty Sun and Moon—the two “eyes” of the world, righteous powers on which all stands—must at times undergo eclipse. Thus, the appearance of affliction does not negate inner order or dharma.
Verse 3.66.11
सुमहान्त्यपि भूतानि देवाश्च पुरुषर्षभ।न दैवस्य प्रमुञ्चन्ति सर्वभूतानि देहिनः।।3.66.11।।
O bull among men, no embodied being is released from what is ordained: even great beings, even the gods, do not escape the workings of fate. Therefore, do not let grief destroy discernment.
Verse 3.66.12
शक्रादिष्वपि देवेषु वर्तमानौ नयानयौ।श्रूयेते नरशार्दूल न त्वं शोचितुमर्हसि।।3.66.12।।
O tiger among men, it is said that even among the gods—Indra and the rest—both right conduct and its opposite are at work. Since such fluctuations occur even there, you are not fit to sink into lamentation.
Verse 3.66.13
नष्टायामपि वैदेह्यां हृतायामपि चानघशोचितुं नार्हसे वीर यथान्यः प्राकृतस्तथा।।3.66.13।।
O sinless hero, even if Vaidehī were lost—or even carried away—you should not grieve like an ordinary man. Your dharma calls for strength of mind and purposeful action, not helpless lament.
Verse 3.66.14
त्वव्दिधा न हि शोचन्ति सततं सत्यदर्शिनः।सुमहत्स्वपि कृच्छ्रेषु रामानिर्विण्णदर्शनाः।।3.66.14।।
Those like you, O Rama—truth-seeing and clear-sighted—do not continually lament, even in the greatest calamities. A vision grounded in satya does not sink into despondency.
Verse 3.66.15
तत्त्वतो हि नरश्रेष्ठ बुद्ध्या समनुचिन्तय।बुध्द्या युक्ता महाप्राज्ञा विजानन्ति शुभाशुभे।।3.66.15।।
O best of men, reflect with your intellect upon the reality of things. The truly wise, endowed with discernment, understand what is auspicious and what is harmful—and choose accordingly.
Verse 3.66.16
अदृष्टगुणदोषाणामध्रुवाणां तु कर्मणाम्।नान्तरेण क्रियां तेषां फलमिष्टं प्रवर्तते।।3.66.16।।
For deeds done without recognizing merit and fault, and performed with an unsteady will, the desired result does not arise without proper, directed effort. Right ends require right understanding and right action.
Verse 3.66.17
त्वमेव हि पुरा राम मामेवं बहुशोऽन्वशाः।अनुशिष्याद्धि को नु त्वामपि साक्षाद्बृहस्पतिः।।3.66.17।।
O Rama, you yourself once instructed me in these very ways, again and again. Who indeed could instruct you now—even Brihaspati himself? Such counsel already dwells within you.
Verse 3.66.18
बुद्धिश्च ते महाप्राज्ञ देवैरपि दुरन्वया।शोकेनाभिप्रसुप्तं ते ज्ञानं सम्बोधयाम्यहम्।।3.66.18।।
O great wise one, your intellect is difficult even for the gods to fathom. Yet your knowledge has been lulled to sleep by grief; I speak only to awaken that wisdom within you.
Verse 3.66.19
दिव्यं च मानुषं च त्वमात्मनश्च पराक्रमम्।इक्ष्वाकुवृषभावेक्ष्य यतस्व द्विषतां वधे।।3.66.19।।
He saw Rama thus—scorched by grief, lamenting like one bereft of all support, overwhelmed by great bewilderment, wretched and as if senseless.
Verse 3.66.20
किं तेन सर्वनाशेन कृतेन पुरुषर्षभ।तमेव त्वं रिपुं पापं विज्ञायोद्धर्तुमर्हसि।।3.66.20।।
O Rama, by great austerity and by great deeds, King Dasharatha obtained you—just as the gods obtained amrita, the nectar of immortality.