Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 58, Shloka 6

अष्टपञ्चाशः सर्गः (Sarga 58)

Daśaratha Questions Sumantra; Messages from the Forest Threshold

Devanagari script

दुःखस्यानुचितो दुःखं सुमन्त्र शयनोचितः।भूमिपालात्मजो भूमौ शेते कथमनाथवत्।।।।

Transliteration

duḥkhasyānucito duḥkhaṃ sumantra śayanocitaḥ |

bhūmipālātmajo bhūmau śete katham anāthavat ||

Translation

«Ô Sumantra, il n’est pas fait pour la souffrance et il est habitué à une couche convenable. Comment le fils du protecteur de la terre pourrait-il dormir à même le sol, tel un sans-appui ?»

Word by Word

• duḥkhasya: of sorrow
• duḥkhasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: duḥkha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napuṃsakaliṅga, Ṣaṣṭhī-vibhakti (Genitive/6th), Ekavacana

• anucitaḥ: not fit/undeserving
• anucitaḥ: Karta (कर्ता-viśeṣaṇa)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: an-ucita (कृदन्त/PPP of √ci ‘to befit’ with prefix)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; predicate adjective of bhūmipālātmajaḥ

• duḥkham: sorrow
• duḥkham: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: duḥkha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napuṃsakaliṅga, Dvitīyā (Acc/2nd), Ekavacana

• sumantra: O Sumantra
• sumantra: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sumantra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Sambodhana (Vocative), Ekavacana

• śayana-ucitaḥ: accustomed/fit for a bed
• śayana-ucitaḥ: Karta (कर्ता-viśeṣaṇa)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śayana (प्रातिपदिक) + ucita (कृदन्त/PPP of √ci)
• Form: Samāsa: tatpuruṣa (‘fit for a bed/couch’); Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; viśeṣaṇa of bhūmipālātmajaḥ

• bhūmipāla-ātmajaḥ: the king’s son
• bhūmipāla-ātmajaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūmi (प्रातिपदिक) + pāla (प्रातिपदिक) + ātmaja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Samāsa: tatpuruṣa (‘son of the earth-protector/king’); Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana

• bhūmau: on the ground
• bhūmau: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūmi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (Feminine), Saptamī-vibhakti (Locative/7th), Ekavacana

• śete: lies/sleeps
• śete: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √śī (धातु)
• Form: Laṭ-lakāra (Present), Prathama-puruṣa (3rd), Ekavacana, Ātmanepada

• katham: how
• katham: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; interrogative adverb (manner)

• anāthavat: like an orphan
• anāthavat: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: anātha (प्रातिपदिक) + vat (तद्धित)
• Form: Avyaya (adverbial -vat: ‘like’), manner-adverb qualifying śete

Context

'Having banished the righteous Rama, the delight of all subjects and, thereby,antagonizing the entire world, how can you claim to be their king?'

Characters & Entities

• Dasharatha
• Sumantra
• Rama

FAQs

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

The verse highlights the tension between royal comfort and dharmic renunciation: dharma may demand that even a prince accept austerity.

What is the narrative situation?

Dasharatha laments the thought of Rama sleeping on the ground in the forest, far from palace protections.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

Dasharatha’s protective parental love; and implicitly, Rama’s capacity to endure hardship for truth.