Valmiki Ramayana 2.21.8: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 21, Shloka 8
अयोध्याकाण्डे एकविंशः सर्गः · Lakṣmaṇa’s militant counsel and Rāma’s dharma
based persuasion of Kausalyā
Spoken by Lakṣmaṇa to RamaSetting: Ayodhya (palace/court implied)
यावदेव न जानाति कश्चिदर्थमिमं नरः ।
तावदेव मया सार्धमात्मस्थं कुरु शासनम् ॥८॥
yāvad eva na jānāti kaścid artham imaṁ naraḥ |
tāvad eva mayā sārdham ātmasthaṁ kuru śāsanam ||8||
जब तक किसी को इस बात का पता नहीं चलता, तब तक तुम राज्य संभाल लो। मैं तुम्हारे साथ हूँ। तुम अपने हाथ में सब कुछ रखो।
Sandhi Notes
- kaścidartham = kaścit + artham
- ātmasthaṃ (compound)
Before this news is known to any one bring the kingdom under your control with my assistance.
The teaching
Strategic counsel may urge swift control, but dharma requires scrutiny of means; urgency does not automatically justify overriding rightful command.
Duties in tension
- Obedience to the king’s command
- Protecting rightful succession and public order
- Avoiding adharma through forceful seizure
- Ethical theme
- Nīti vs dharma
- How it resolves
- Proposed pragmatic intervention (not accepted by Rāma)
For your practice
Highlights vigilance and self-mastery (ātma-stha) in crisis; useful for reflecting on timing, restraint, and ethical action.
Mood and themes
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism), with Raudra (fury)
- Mood
- Urgent, strategic, protective
Themes
- Dharma
- Political counsel
- Crisis response
- Royal authority
Rajas-driven action contrasted with sattvic restraint; the verse foregrounds pragmatic agency (kartṛtva) before events crystallize.
Implicit contrast between outer sovereignty (rājya) and inner sovereignty (ātma-stha—‘under your own control’), echoing self-mastery themes.
- Lakshmana and Rama
- Younger brother advising/protecting elder (urgent)
Mahābhārata, Udyoga: counsel to act swiftly before information spreads; strategic secrecy in polity; Rāmacaritamānasa, Ayodhyākāṇḍa: Lakṣmaṇa’s proposals to resist and take control (parallel intent)
Arthaśāstra-like prudence: timing, secrecy, consolidation of power
Ayodhyākāṇḍa: Lakṣmaṇa’s repeated offers to secure the kingdom for Rāma; counsel given before public proclamation
Anuṣṭup (śloka)
Commanding
Tīvra, brisk tempo; emphasis on 'यावदेव' and 'शासनम्'
FAQs
It raises a dharmic tension: emergency political action to prevent injustice versus obedience to established authority; Lakṣmaṇa urges decisive control to avert harm.
Lakṣmaṇa proposes immediate action—taking control before public knowledge spreads—so that Rāma is not wronged by the unfolding palace decision.
Lakṣmaṇa’s readiness to act and his protective solidarity with Rāma, even in politically risky circumstances.
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