Valmiki Ramayana 2.75.12 — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 75, Shloka 12

अयोध्याकाण्डे पञ्चसप्ततितमः सर्गः

Sarga 75: Bharata and Kausalya—Reproach, Oaths, and Reconciliation

Devanagari script

प्रस्थाप्य चीरवसनं पुत्रं मे वनवासिनम्।कैकेयी कं गुणं तत्र पश्यति क्रूरदर्शिनी।।।।

Transliteration

prasthāpya cīravasanaṃ putraṃ me vanavāsinam |

kaikeyī kaṃ guṇaṃ tatra paśyati krūradarśinī ||

Translation

Après avoir envoyé mon fils—vêtu d’écorce—vivre en exil dans la forêt, quel « avantage » Kaikeyī, au regard cruel, a-t-elle donc cru y trouver ?

Word by Word

• prasthāpya: having sent away
• prasthāpya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pra-√sthā (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive), अव्यय; ‘having sent forth/dispatched’

• cīra-vasanam: clad in bark garments
• cīra-vasanam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: cīra-vasana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण

• putram: son
• putram: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: putra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• me: my
• me: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (Genitive), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• vana-vāsinam: dwelling in the forest
• vana-vāsinam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vana+vāsin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण

• kaikeyī: Kaikeyi
• kaikeyī: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kaikeyī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• kam: what
• kam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक सर्वनाम

• guṇam: advantage/merit
• guṇam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: guṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक अव्यय (locative adverb)

• paśyati: sees
• paśyati: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √paś (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• krūra-darśinī: cruel-minded (woman)
• krūra-darśinī: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: krūra+darśinī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण (cruel-minded/seeing cruelly)

Context

What advantage did cruel Kaikeyi visualize in sending away my son to dwell in the forest wearing robes of bark?

Characters & Entities

• Kauśalyā
• Kaikeyī
• Rāma (implied as ‘my son’)
• Vana (forest)
• Cīra (bark garments)

FAQs

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

Dharma rejects cruelty disguised as policy: causing suffering to the righteous for political gain is shown as irrational and morally empty.

What is the narrative situation?

Kauśalyā questions the motive and ‘profit’ behind Kaikeyī’s decision to send Rāma into forest life.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

Kauśalyā’s protective maternal dharma and her insistence that righteous persons should not be harmed for ambition.