Valmiki Ramayana 2.26.20: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 26, Shloka 20
अयोध्याकाण्डे षड्विंशः सर्गः · Rama’s Departure and Sita’s Questions; Disclosure of Exile and Counsel on Courtly Conduct
Spoken by Rama to SitaSetting: Ayodhya (implied, within the royal quarters where Rama addresses Sita)Pre-departure briefing before exile
कुले महति सम्भूते धर्मज्ञे धर्मचारिणि ।
शृणु जानकि येनेदं क्रमेणाभ्यागतं मम ॥२०॥
kule mahati sambhūte dharmajñe dharmacāriṇi |
śṛṇu jānaki yenedaṃ krameṇābhyāgataṃ mama ||20||
जानकी, तुम बड़े खानदान में पैदा हुई हो। तुम धरम जानती हो और उसके हिसाब से चलती हो। सुनो, मैं बताता हूँ कि मेरे साथ यह सब कैसे कैसे हुआ।
Sandhi Notes
- येन + इदम् → येनेदं
- क्रमेण + अभ्यागतम् → क्रमेणाभ्यागतम्
You were born in a noble family. You know and practise dharma. I shall tell you how this banishment has come about. Do listen.
The teaching
Dharma is best faced with clarity: understand the causes in order, then act without agitation.
Duties in tension
- Kula-dharma and royal duty vs personal happiness
- Truthfulness to vows (implied forthcoming) vs protection of family harmony
- Ethical theme
- Svadharma / satya / family-ethics
- How it resolves
- Instructional framing before acceptance
For your practice
Model for sāttvika speech: truthful, orderly narration; honoring the dharmic qualities of one’s partner; cultivating equanimity before hardship.
Mood and themes
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace), with Karuna (compassion)
- Mood
- Grave, intimate, foreboding
Themes
- Dharma
- Satya
- Marital Ethics
- Itihasa
Adhyāropa–apavāda style of instruction: orderly unfolding to steady the mind before renunciation-like departure.
Katha Upanishad-like pedagogy: calm instruction in the face of impending loss; steadiness (dhairya) before the unknown.
- Rama and Janaki
- Spouses; confidant-to-confidante disclosure (tender-serious)
- Janaki and Dharma
- Dharma-jna and dharma-carini (ethical exemplar) (reverent)
- Rama and Dharma
- Self-positioning as dharma-aligned narrator; appeal to moral order (solemn)
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.26.21-24 (continuation of causal narration to Sītā); Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.18-2.20 (Daśaratha’s vow-bound predicament; exile causality)
Dharma discourse motifs in Mahābhārata (e.g., Vidura-nīti: speaking truthfully and sequentially in counsel)
Ayodhyākāṇḍa: Rama’s consistent framing of events through dharma and lineage (kula-dharma)
Anuṣṭup (śloka)
Solemn
Madhyama-gati, niṣāda-nyāsa (soft cadence)
FAQs
Truth spoken with respect: Rāma prepares to explain events transparently, addressing Sītā as a dharmic partner capable of understanding moral causality.
After revealing the exile, Rāma begins narrating to Sītā the chain of causes behind it.
Rāma’s respectful communication and moral seriousness—he treats Sītā as a conscientious agent grounded in dharma.
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