Shloka 2.58.7

अष्टपञ्चाशः सर्गः (Sarga 58) — Daśaratha Questions Sumantra; Messages from the Forest Threshold

Devanagari script

यं यान्तमनुयान्ति स्म पदातिरथकुञ्जराः।स वत्स्यति कथं रामो विजनं वन माश्रितः।।।।

Transliteration

yaṃ yāntam anuyānti sma padāti-ratha-kuñjarāḥ |

sa vatsyati kathaṃ rāmo vijanaṃ vanam āśritaḥ ||

Translation

Wherever Rāma went, foot-soldiers, chariots, and elephants used to follow him. How will that Rāma now live, having taken refuge in a lonely, desolate forest?

Context

Wherever Rama went, elephants, chariots and footsoldiers followed him. How can he (now) live in the desolate forest where he has taken refuge?

Characters & Entities

• Rāma
• forest (vana)

FAQs

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

It underscores the cost of dharma-bound exile: Rāma accepts hardship to uphold truth and rightful order, while the king’s grief reflects the human price of maintaining moral duty.

What is the narrative situation?

Daśaratha, hearing/remembering Rāma’s former royal grandeur, laments how Rāma can now endure a solitary forest life after departing Ayodhyā.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

Rāma’s steadfastness and self-discipline (dharma-niṣṭhā)—the capacity to live without royal comforts for the sake of truth and duty.