Shloka 2.21.53
अयोध्याकाण्डे एकविंशः सर्गः — Lakṣmaṇa’s militant counsel and Rāma’s dharma-based persuasion of Kausalyā
नरैरिवोल्काभिरपोह्यमानोमहागजोऽध्वानमनुप्रविष्टः।भूयः प्रजज्वाल विलापमेवं निशम्य रामः करुणं जनन्याः।।2.21.53।।
narair ivolkābhir apohyamāno
mahāgajo 'dhvānam anupraviṣṭaḥ |
bhūyaḥ prajajvāla vilāpam evaṃ
niśamya rāmaḥ karuṇaṃ jananyāḥ || 2.21.53 ||
Hearing his mother’s pitiful lament in this manner, Rama burned inwardly all the more—like a great elephant forced back from the road by men brandishing blazing torches.
At the (inconsolable) lamentations of his mother, Rama was in flames (within) like a mighty elephant prevented from entering the highway by men with fire-works.
Dharma often requires enduring inner anguish without abandoning the righteous path; the verse depicts that tension rather than denying it.
As Kausalya laments, the narrator describes Rama’s intensified inner pain through a vivid simile.
Compassion restrained by duty—Rama feels deeply yet remains committed to the dharmic decision.