Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 58, Shloka 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

Partout où allait Rāma, le suivaient jadis les fantassins, les chars et les éléphants. Comment ce même Rāma vivra-t-il désormais, ayant pris refuge dans une forêt déserte et sans hommes ?

Word by Word

• yam: whom
• yam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma; Puṃliṅga, Dvitīyā (Acc/2nd), Ekavacana; relative pronoun

• yāntam: going
• yāntam: Karma (कर्म-viśeṣaṇa)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √yā (धातु)
• Form: Kṛdanta: Śatṛ (present active participle), Puṃliṅga, Dvitīyā, Ekavacana; viśeṣaṇa of yam

• anuyānti: follow
• anuyānti: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: anu-√yā (धातु)
• Form: Laṭ-lakāra (Present), Prathama-puruṣa (3rd), Bahuvacana (Plural), Parasmaipada

• sma: used to/indeed (past habitual)
• sma: Kriyā-sahakārī (क्रिया-सहकारी/auxiliary particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sma (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; past-habitual marker with present (smā-usage)

• padāti-ratha-kuñjarāḥ: infantry, chariots, and elephants
• padāti-ratha-kuñjarāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: padāti (प्रातिपदिक) + ratha (प्रातिपदिक) + kuñjara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Samāsa: dvandva (copulative: foot-soldiers, chariots, elephants); Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Bahuvacana

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana

• vatsyati: will live
• vatsyati: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vas (धातु)
• Form: Luṭ-lakāra (Periphrastic Future), Prathama-puruṣa, Ekavacana, Parasmaipada

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

• rāmaḥ: Rama
• rāmaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rāma (प्रातिपदik)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana

• vijanam: desolate
• vijanam: Karma (कर्म-viśeṣaṇa)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vijana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napuṃsakaliṅga, Dvitīyā, Ekavacana; viśeṣaṇa of vanam

• vanam: forest
• vanam: Karma (कर्म; āśritaḥ takes object of resort)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napuṃsakaliṅga, Dvitīyā, Ekavacana

• āśritaḥ: having taken shelter in
• āśritaḥ: Karta (कर्ता-viśeṣaṇa)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ā-√śri (धातु)
• Form: Kṛdanta: Kta (PPP), Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; predicate/qualifier of rāmaḥ

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.