Valmiki Ramayana 6.21.7-9: Yuddha Kanda, Sarga 21, Shlokas 7-9
सागरप्रतीक्षा-क्रोधप्रादुर्भावः
Rama’s Vigil at the Ocean and the Rise of Wrath
Setting: Sea-shore before Lanka; Rāma’s ritual fast/lying-in-vow (prāya/upavāsa) facing the oceanPlaces named: Mahodadhi, SāgaraPre-crossing; seeking passage from the sea
असत्याचपुनस्सव्यंज्याघातविगतत्वचम् ।
दक्षिणोदक्षिणंबाहुंमहापरिघसन्निभम् ॥७॥
गोसहस्रप्रदारंमुपधायमहत्भुजम् ।
अद्यमेमरणंवादतरणंसागरस्यवा ॥८॥
तिरामोमतिंकृत्वामहाबाहुर्महोदधिम् ।
अधिशिश्येचविधिवत्प्रयतोनियतोमुनिः ॥९॥
asyatā ca punas savyaṃ jyāghātavigatatvacam |
dakṣiṇo dakṣiṇaṃ bāhuṃ mahāparighasannibham ||7||
gosahasrapradāraṃm upadhāya mahat bhujam |
adya me maraṇaṃ vā taraṇaṃ sāgarasya vā ||8||
iti rāmo matiṃ kṛtvā mahābāhur mahodadhim |
adhiśiśye ca vidhivat prayato niyato muniḥ ||9||
પુનઃપુનઃ ધનુષ્યની જ્યાઘાતથી ડાબો હાથ કઠોર ચામડીવાળો થયો હતો; જમણો હાથ તો મહાપરિઘ સમો દૃઢ હતો—ગોસહસ્ર દાન કરતાં કરતાં પરિશ્રમિત. ‘આજે તો મારું મરણ હશે અથવા સાગરતરાણ,’ એમ નિશ્ચય કરીને મહાબાહુ શ્રીરામ મહાસાગર સામે વિધિવત્ શયન કર્યા—પ્રયત્નશીલ, નિયત, મુનિ સમ સંયમી।
Sandhi Notes
- असत्याचपुनः = असत्या + च + पुनः
- सव्यं ज्याघातविगतत्वचम् (समास)
- दक्षिणो दक्षिणं = दक्षिणः + दक्षिणम्
- गोसहस्रप्रदारंमुपधाय = गोसहस्रप्रदारम् + उपधाय (म् + उ → मुप्)
- अद्य मे मरणं वा दा (दा as textual particle/reading)
- तिरामो = इति + रामः (इति-रामो sandhi)
- अधिशिश्येच = अधिशिश्ये + च
The mighty armed Rama's arms were hardened like that of iron bars by the large number of arrows received by the left arm and strained by giving thousands of cows as gifts by the right arm. Rama was determined now to cross over the great ocean or meet the sea with death and lay down subdued and restrained like a sage.
The teaching
When duty is obstructed, begin with restraint and rightful rite; let force be the last resort, guided by saṅkalpa and discipline.
Duties in tension
- Kṣātra-dharma to rescue Sītā swiftly
- Respect for natural order/deities (the ocean) and avoidance of needless violence
- Ethical theme
- Dharma-sankata; righteous means (upāya)
- How it resolves
- Austerity and formal supplication preceding coercive action
Devotion and practice
Model for vrata/saṅkalpa: disciplined resolve, fasting/niyama, and prayer before undertaking a daunting crossing (outer or inner).
- Deity praised
- Sāgara (as a deva/adhidevatā of the ocean)
- Form of praise
- Vandana (salutation)
- Mantra
- "adyā me maraṇaṃ vā taraṇaṃ sāgarasya vā" (saṅkalpa-vākya)
Mood and themes
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism), with Shanta (peace)
- Mood
- Austere, unyielding, sacrificial
Themes
- Dharma
- Satya
- Maryada
- Ethics
- Itihasa
Saṅkalpa and niyama as inner mastery over prakṛti; the ocean as the vast mind-field to be crossed by disciplined resolve.
Tapas as creative/transformative power (tapasā brahma vijijñāsasva motif); self-restraint (niyama) as the path to crossing the 'ocean' of saṃsāra imagery.
- Rama and Ocean
- Vow-bound supplicant confronting a cosmic deity/element (commanding)
- Rama and Rama
- Inner resolve; tapas-like self-restraint (resolute)
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 6.21.8-9 (Rāma’s vow: death or crossing; ritual lying down); Rāmacaritamānasa Laṅkākāṇḍa: Rāma’s prayer to the ocean and subsequent anger when unheeded
Vedic dāna-praise traditions (go-dāna as royal merit); Mahābhārata: vows of kṣatriyas framed as 'adyāham' life-or-death resolves
Ayodhyākāṇḍa: Rāma’s disciplined conduct like a muni in forest life; recurring motif of kṣatriya acting with ṛṣi-like restraint
Anuṣṭup (śloka)
Solemn
Gāndhāra
FAQs
Dharma is steadfast resolve joined to disciplined method: Rāma does not act from mere rage; he undertakes a vow-like, rule-bound posture, committing himself to truthful determination (satya-saṅkalpa) for a righteous end.
At the seashore, facing the obstacle of the ocean before reaching Laṅkā, Rāma forms a decisive resolve—either to cross or to die—and assumes a restrained, ascetic stance.
Dhairya and saṅkalpa (fortitude and resolve), tempered by niyama (self-restraint).
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