Valmiki Ramayana 2.47.5 — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 47, Shloka 5

अयोध्यायाः पौरविलापः

Lament of the Citizens of Ayodhya on Rama’s Absence

Devanagari script

कथं नाम महाबाहु स्स तथावितथक्रियः।भक्तं जनं परित्यज्य प्रवासं राघवो गतः।।।।

Transliteration

kathaṃ nāma mahābāhuḥ sa tathāvitathakriyaḥ | bhaktaṃ janaṃ parityajya pravāsaṃ rāghavo gataḥ ||

Translation

¿Cómo pudo Rāghava—de poderosos brazos, cuyas obras jamás fallan a quienes le son devotos—abandonar a su pueblo fiel y partir al destierro?

Word by Word

• katham: how
• katham: Sambandha (सम्बन्धः)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (interrogative adverb)

• nāma: indeed/ever
• nāma: Sambandha (सम्बन्धः)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nāma (अव्यय)
• Form: निपातः (emphatic/colloquial particle)

• mahābāhuḥ: the mighty-armed one
• mahābāhuḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (महा) + bāhu (बाहु प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः: कर्मधारयः; पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; सम्बोधनार्थे विशेषण-नाम (epithet)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (तद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• tathā: thus/in that way
• tathā: Sambandha (सम्बन्धः)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: thus/in that way)

• avitathakriyaḥ: whose actions never fail
• avitathakriyaḥ: Visheshana (विशेषणम्)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a- (नञ्) + vitatha (वितथ प्रातिपदिक) + kriyā (क्रिया प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः: बहुव्रीहिः (अवितथा क्रिया यस्य = whose deeds are not fruitless/never fail); पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; सः/राघवः इति विशेषणम्

• bhaktam: devoted
• bhaktam: Visheshana (विशेषणम्)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhakta (भज् धातु, क्त-प्रत्यय; भक्त प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; क्तान्त विशेषणम् जनम् इति विशेषणम्

• janam: people
• janam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jana (जन प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• parityajya: having abandoned
• parityajya: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वकाल-क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pari-tyaj (परि-त्यज् धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभावः; पूर्वकालिक-क्रिया (having abandoned)

• pravāsam: exile
• pravāsam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pravāsa (प्रवास प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• rāghavaḥ: Raghava (Rama)
• rāghavaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rāghava (राघव प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• gataḥ: has gone
• gataḥ: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (गम् धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past participle), पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; लट्-समर्थे भूतार्थे (has gone)

Context

Those high-minded people with sorrowful faces due to separation from sagacious Rama expressed themselves in piteous words:

Characters & Entities

• Rāma
• Ayodhyā (implied)

FAQs

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

It reflects the dharma of reciprocal duty: a righteous leader is expected to honor devotion and protect dependents; the citizens feel that moral bond has been ruptured.

What is the narrative situation?

The citizens struggle to reconcile Rāma’s known character with the fact of his departure to exile.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

Rāma’s reliability and gratitude—his deeds do not go ‘fruitless’ for those devoted to him.