Shloka 2.14.57

सत्यपाशः — Kaikeyi’s Demand and the Noose of the King’s Promise

Devanagari script

क्षिप्रमाज्ञाप्यतां राजन्राघवस्याभिषेचनम्। यथा ह्यपालाः पशवो यथा सेना ह्यनायका।।2.14.56।।यथा चन्द्रं विना रात्रिर्यथा गावो विना वृषम्। एवं हि भविता राष्ट्रं यत्र राजा न दृश्यते।।2.14.57।।

Transliteration

yathā candraṃ vinā rātrir yathā gāvo vinā vṛṣam | evaṃ hi bhavitā rāṣṭraṃ yatra rājā na dṛśyate ||

Translation

As night is bereft without the moon, and cows are bereft without a bull, so too a realm becomes bereft where no king is seen.

Context

O king Rama's installation may be promptly ordered. As herds without herdsman, army without commander, night without the Moon, and cows without a bull, so is a kingdom without a king.

Characters & Entities

• Sumantra
• Daśaratha
• rāṣṭra (kingdom)
• rājā (king)
• candra (moon)

FAQs

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

Dharma is the sustaining presence of rightful authority: governance is not merely power but the stabilizing principle that prevents social and moral disarray.

What is the narrative situation?

Continuing his counsel, Sumantra heightens the urgency by comparing a kingless realm to natural and pastoral conditions lacking their sustaining counterpart.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

Concern for the common good: the minister frames kingship as a necessity for the realm’s well-being, not personal grandeur.