Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 114, Shloka 15

अयोध्याप्रवेशः

Bharata Enters Ayodhya and Perceives the City’s Desolation

Devanagari script

वृक्णभूमितलां निम्नां वृक्णपात्रैस्समावृताम्।

उपयुक्तोदकां भग्नां प्रपां निपतितामिव।।2.114.15।।

Transliteration

vṛkṇa-bhūmi-talāṃ nimnāṃ vṛkṇa-pātraiḥ samāvṛtām | upayukta-udakāṃ bhagnāṃ prapāṃ nipatitām iva ||

Translation

Ayodhyā semblait une prapā, un relais d’eau, effondré et affaissé : le sol déchiré et inégal comme un creux, couvert de récipients brisés, et l’eau déjà puisée.

Word by Word

• वृक्णभूमितलाम्: with the ground-surface torn
• वृक्णभूमितलाम्: Upamāna (उपमान) (विशेषणम्)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वृक्ण + भूमि + तल (प्रातिपदिके) (समास)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमासः; वृक्ण (क्त, ‘torn/riven’); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘whose ground-surface is torn’

• निम्नाम्: low-lying
• निम्नाम्: Upamāna (उपमान) (विशेषणम्)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निम्न (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘low, depressed’

• वृक्णपात्रैः: with broken pots
• वृक्णपात्रैः: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृक्ण + पात्र (प्रातिपदिके) (समास)
• Form: तत्पुरुषः; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), बहुवचन; ‘with broken pots’

• समावृताम्: strewn/covered around
• समावृताम्: Karma (कर्म) (विशेषणम्)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम् + आ + वृ (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: उपसर्गपूर्वक क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘covered/strewn around’

• उपयुक्तोदकाम्: with water used up
• उपयुक्तोदकाम्: Upamāna (उपमान) (विशेषणम्)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उपयुक्त + उदक (प्रातिपदिके) (समास)
• Form: तत्पुरुषः; उपयुक्त (क्त, ‘used up’); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘whose water is used up’

• भग्नाम्: broken
• भग्नाम्: Upamāna (उपमान) (विशेषणम्)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भञ्ज् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘broken’

• प्रपाम्: a cistern/well
• प्रपाम्: Upamāna (उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रपा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; (here) ‘water-shed/well/cistern’

• निपतिताम्: sunken, fallen
• निपतिताम्: Upamāna (उपमान) (विशेषणम्)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नि + पत् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: उपसर्गपूर्वक क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘fallen down, sunk’

• इव: like
• इव: Upamā-dyotaka (उपमा-द्योतक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (उपमा-सूचक)

Context

a dale.

Characters & Entities

• Ayodhyā
• prapā (watering-station)

FAQs

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

A prapā symbolizes public service and care for travellers; its collapse suggests the breakdown of welfare and protection—key duties in rajadharma.

What is the narrative situation?

The narrator continues the sequence of similes to show Ayodhyā’s exhaustion and disrepair as Bharata arrives.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

The implied virtue is compassionate governance—maintaining resources and social support so the ‘water’ of communal life does not run dry.