Valmiki Ramayana 2.21.9: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 21, Shloka 9
अयोध्याकाण्डे एकविंशः सर्गः · Lakṣmaṇa’s militant counsel and Rāma’s dharma
based persuasion of Kausalyā
Spoken by Lakṣmaṇa to RamaSetting: Ayodhya (palace environs implied)
मया पार्श्वे सधनुषा तव गुप्तस्य राघव ।
क स्समर्थोऽधिकं कर्तुं कृतान्तस्येव तिष्ठतः ॥९॥
mayā pārśve sadhanuṣā tava guptasya rāghava |
kaḥ samartho 'dhikaṁ kartuṁ kṛtāntasyeva tiṣṭhataḥ ||9||
हे राघव, मैं तुम्हारे पास खड़ा हूँ, हाथ में धनुष लिए। मैं तुम्हारी हिफाज़त कर रहा हूँ। तुम वही खड़े हो जैसे मौत खड़ी हो। अब कौन तुमपे हाथ उठाने की हिम्मत करेगा?
Sandhi Notes
- samartho'dhikam = samarthaḥ + adhikam
- kṛtāntasyeva = kṛtāntasya + iva
- sadhanuṣā = sa + dhanuṣā
O Rama! who can commit excesses on you, when you stand like Yama, god of death, protected by me with my bow?
The teaching
Martial devotion can become dharma only when restrained by higher righteousness; power must serve order, not impulse.
Duties in tension
- Protecting the rightful prince by force
- Maintaining obedience to royal command and avoiding civil strife
- Ethical theme
- Kṣātra-dharma under restraint
- How it resolves
- Threatened coercive protection (not adopted by Rāma)
For your practice
Invokes abhaya and steadfast companionship in service of the righteous; contemplation on using strength as protective, not egoic.
Mood and themes
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism), with Raudra (fury)
- Mood
- Martial, protective, dauntless
Themes
- Dharma
- Protection of the righteous
- Brotherly loyalty
- Kṣātra valor
The ‘Death-like’ simile evokes kāla as inevitable power; the righteous warrior becomes an instrument of cosmic order when aligned with dharma.
Kāla/mṛtyu imagery resonates with Upaniṣadic reflections on Death as a cosmic principle (e.g., Mṛtyu as lord of the conditioned).
- Lakshmana and Rama
- Younger brother as armed protector/companion (devoted)
- Rama and Yama
- Simile: Rama as death-like in power (awe)
Mahābhārata: warrior-protector vows (Bhīma/Arjuna protecting Yudhiṣṭhira); Rāmacaritamānasa: Lakṣmaṇa’s fierce assurances of protection to Rāma
Vedic imagery of Mṛtyu/Kāla as irresistible force
Ayodhyākāṇḍa: Lakṣmaṇa’s repeated readiness to use arms to prevent injustice; later forest protection episodes
Anuṣṭup (śloka)
Commanding
Udātta-heavy, heroic cadence; pause after 'राघव'
FAQs
Dharma includes defending the righteous against wrongdoing; Lakṣmaṇa frames protection of Rāma as a just, force-backed deterrence.
Lakṣmaṇa reassures Rāma of his armed support and implies that no one can oppress Rāma if they stand together.
Lakṣmaṇa’s unwavering devotion and martial readiness (kṣātra-tejas) in service of what he perceives as justice.
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