Sarga 43

Verse 1

ततः समीक्ष्य शयने सन्नं शोकेन पार्थिवम्।कौशल्या पुत्रशोकार्ता तमुवाच महीपतिम्।।।।

Then Kausalyā—stricken with grief for her son—looked upon the king lying on the couch, exhausted by sorrow, and spoke to that lord of the earth.

Verse 2

राघवे नरशार्दूले विषमुप्त्वाहिजिह्मगा।विचरिष्यति कैकेयी निर्मुक्तेव हि पन्नगी।।।।

Crooked as a serpent, Kaikeyī has poured her poison upon Rāghava, the tiger among men; and now, like a she-serpent that has cast off its slough, she will roam about unrestrained.

Verse 3

विवास्य रामं सुभगा लब्धकामा समाहिता।त्रासयिष्यति मां भूयो दुष्टाहिरिव वेश्मनि।।।।

Having driven Rāma into exile, she—content, her desire fulfilled and her mind composed—will frighten me again and again, like a vicious serpent within the house.

Verse 4

अथ स्म नगरे रामश्चरन् भैक्षं गृहे वसेत्।कामकारो वरं दातुमपि दासं ममात्मजम्।।।।

Better it would have been to give my son even as a slave to her whim; then at least Rāma might have remained in the city, dwelling at home and sustaining himself by alms while fulfilling his duty.

Verse 5

पातयित्वा तु कैकेय्या रामं स्थानाद्यथेष्टतः।प्रदिष्टो रक्षसां भागः पर्वणीवाहिताग्निना।।।।

Casting Rama down from his rightful station at her whim, Kaikeyi has acted like a sacrificer who, on the sacred observance day, assigns the offering-share meant for the gods to the rākṣasas.

Verse 6

गजराजगतिर्वीरो महाबाहुर्धनुर्धरः।वनमाविशते नूनं सभार्य स्सह लक्ष्मणः।।।।

My heroic son—mighty-armed, a bearer of the bow, moving with the gait of an elephant-king—must surely now be entering the forest, with his wife Sītā and with Lakṣmaṇa.

Verse 7

वने त्वदृष्टदुःखानां केकय्यानुमते त्वया।त्यक्तानां वनवासाय कान्ववस्था भविष्यति।।।।

At Kaikeyī’s behest, and with your consent, you have cast them away to live in the forest—those who have never before known suffering. What condition will they be reduced to there?

Verse 8

ते रत्नहीनास्तरुणाः फलकाले विवासिताः।कथं वत्स्यन्ति कृपणाः फलमूलैः कृताशनाः।।।।

Deprived of comforts and precious things, and exiled in the very season of youth meant for enjoyment—how will they live, wretched, with fruits and roots as their food?

Verse 9

अपीदानीं स कालस्स्यान्मम शोकक्षय श्शिवः।सभार्यं यत्सह भ्रात्रा पश्येयमिह राघवम्।।।।

Will that auspicious time ever come to end my sorrow—when I may see Rāghava here again, with his wife and his brother?

Verse 10

श्रृत्वैवोपस्थितौ वीरौ कदायोध्या भविष्यति।यशस्विनी हृष्टजना सूच्छ्रितध्वजमालिनी।।।।

When will Ayodhyā be glorious again—when, on merely hearing that the two heroes have returned, its people rejoice, and the city is adorned with rows of banners held aloft?

Verse 11

कदा प्रेक्ष्य नरव्याघ्रावरण्यात्पुनरागतौ।नन्दिष्यति पुरी हृष्टा समुद्र इव पर्वणि।।।।

When will the city, delighted, rejoice on seeing those tiger-like men returned from the forest—swelling with joy like the sea on the full-moon tide?

Verse 12

कदाऽयोध्यां महाबाहुः पुरीं वीरः प्रवेक्ष्यति।पुरस्कृत्य रथे सीतां वृषभो गोवधूमिव।।।।

When will that mighty-armed hero enter the city of Ayodhyā, placing Sītā before him on the chariot—like a bull following after the cow?

Verse 13

कदा प्राणिसहस्राणि राजमार्गे ममात्मजौ।लाजैरवकिरिष्यन्ति प्रविशन्तावरिन्दमौ।।।।

When will thousands of people on the royal highway shower parched grain as my two sons—subduers of enemies—enter the city?

Verse 14

प्रविशन्तौ कदाऽयोध्यां द्रक्ष्यामि शुभकुण्डलौ।उदग्रायुधनिस्त्रिंशौ सश्रृङ्गाविव पर्वतौ।।।।

When shall I see the two of them entering Ayodhyā—wearing auspicious earrings, their weapons and swords held high—like two mountains with lofty peaks?

Verse 15

कदासुमनसः कन्याद्विजातीनां फलानि च।प्रदिशन्तः पुरीं हृष्टाः करिष्यन्ति प्रदक्षिणम्।।।।

When will they, rejoicing, make the auspicious circumambulation of the city, while young maidens and brāhmaṇas offer them flowers and fruits?

Verse 16

कदा परिणतो बुद्ध्या वयसा चामरप्रभः।अभ्युपैष्यति धर्मज्ञस्त्रिवर्ष इव मां ललन्।।।।

When will Rāma—the knower of dharma, radiant with divine splendor, mature in wisdom and in years—return to me, playfully affectionate like a three-year-old child?

Verse 17

निस्संशयं मया मन्ये पुरा वीर कदर्यया।पातुकामेषु वत्सेषु मातृ़णां शातितास्स्तनाः।।।।

Undoubtedly, O valiant one, I think that in some former time—out of miserly cruelty—I hacked the udders of the mothers while their calves longed to drink; therefore this suffering has come to me.

Verse 18

साहं गौरिव सिंहेन विवत्सा वत्सला कृता।कैकेय्या पुरुषव्याघ्र बालवत्सेव गौर्बलात्।।।।

O tiger among men, I—like a cow that loves her calf—have been made calf-less by Kaikeyi, forcibly torn away, as though a lion had seized the young calf from its mother.

Verse 19

न हि तावद्गुणैर्जुष्टं सर्वशास्त्रविशारदम्।एकपुत्रा विना पुत्रमहं जीवितुमुत्सहे।।।।

I—who have only this one son—cannot bear to live without him: a son endowed with such virtues and skilled in all the śāstras.

Verse 20

न हि मे जीविते किञ्चित्सामर्थ्यमिह कल्प्यते।अपश्यन्त्याः प्रियं पुत्रं महाबाहुं महाबलम्।।।।

In this life I find no strength at all to go on, if I cannot behold my beloved son—mighty-armed and immensely strong.

Verse 21

अयं हि मां दीपयते समुत्थितःतनूजशोकप्रभवो हुताशनः।महीमिमां रश्मिभिरुद्धतप्रभःयथा निदाघे भगवान् दिवाकरः।।।।

This fire, born of grief for my son and now blazing up, burns me—just as, in the heat of summer, the divine Sun scorches the earth with his fierce rays.