Valmiki Ramayana 2.39.4: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 39, Shloka 4
एकोनचत्वारिंशः सर्गः · Dasaratha’s Lament, Sumantra’s Commission, and Sita’s Vow of Marital Dharma
Spoken by Dasharatha to RamaSetting: Ayodhya (palace, Daśaratha’s chamber)
मन्ये खलु मया पूर्वं विवत्सा बहवःकृताः ।
प्राणिनो हिंसिता वापि तस्मादिदमुपस्थितम् ॥४॥
manye khalu mayā pūrvaṃ vivatsā bahavaḥ kṛtāḥ |
prāṇino hiṃsitā vāpi tasmād idam upasthitam ||4||
“Surely, in the past I must have made many bereft of their children, or else harmed living beings; therefore I think this present misfortune has come upon me.”
Sandhi Notes
- वापि = वा + अपि
- तस्मादिदम् = तस्मात् + इदम्
- इदमुपस्थितम् = इदम् + उपस्थितम्
'In the past I must have separated many from their children or harmed many living beings. That is why I think this calamity has befallen me.
The teaching
One’s present suffering may be read as the maturation of past harm; remorse can awaken ethical vigilance (ahiṃsā) and humility.
Duties in tension
- Kṣatriya duty to uphold truth of boons vs duty to protect son and kingdom
- Personal desire to keep Rāma near vs obligation to honor pledged word
- Ethical theme
- Karma-nyāya (moral causality)
- How it resolves
- Karmic interpretation and resignation (not yet resolved)
For your practice
Reflection on karma and ahiṃsā; encourages confession-like self-audit (ātma-parīkṣā) as daily discipline.
Mood and themes
- Rasa
- Karuna (compassion), with Shanta (peace)
- Mood
- Remorseful, self-accusing, fatalistic
Themes
- Dharma
- Karma
- Ethics
- Itihasa
- Guilt
- Suffering
Suffering interpreted through causal law; yet the deeper Self is untouched—misidentification with doership fuels grief.
Echo of the doctrine that actions bear fruit (karman) and bind the agent; also the introspective turn toward one’s past deeds.
- Dasharatha and Kaikeyi
- Husband tormented by wife’s demand (pained-adversarial)
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.12–2.14 (Daśaratha’s anguish after Kaikeyī’s demand); Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.57 (Daśaratha’s recollection of past sin leading to present fate—Śravaṇa episode contextually linked in tradition)
Vedic/Smṛti karma doctrine; ahiṃsā as a moral ideal
Ayodhyākāṇḍa motif: Daśaratha interpreting calamity as consequence of prior wrongdoing
Anuṣṭup (śloka)
Grieving-introspective
Lower register (mandra), slow tempo, plaintive cadence
FAQs
Moral causality: suffering is contemplated as a consequence of past harm (hiṃsā) done to others, urging accountability and repentance rather than self-justification.
Daśaratha, devastated by the impending exile of Rāma, interprets his present calamity as the fruit of earlier wrongdoing.
Self-scrutiny and remorse—Daśaratha turns inward, acknowledging possible past violence and its ethical repercussions.
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