Valmiki Ramayana 2.30.12: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 30, Shloka 12

सीताया वनानुगमननिश्चयः · Sita’s Resolve to Accompany Rama to the Forest

Spoken by Sita to RamaSetting: Ayodhya (discussion of the forest route)Pre-departure; imagining the forest road with grasses and thorny trees

Devanagari script

कुशकाशशरेषीका ये च कण्टकिनो द्रुमाः ।

तूलाजिनसमस्पर्शा मार्गे मम सह त्वया ॥१२॥

Recitation with translationValmiki Ramayana 2.30.12

Transliteration

kuśakāśaśareṣīkā ye ca kaṇṭakino drumāḥ |

tūlājinasamasparśā mārge mama saha tvayā ||12||

Translation

जब तुम मेरे साथ हो, तो घास और काँटे वाले पेड़ भी मुझे नरम लगेंगे। मुझे लगेगा जैसे रुई या चमड़ा हो।

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Word by Word

• kuśakāśaśareṣīkāḥ: kuśa, kāśa, śara and iṣīkā grasses
• Type: Noun
• Root: kuśa + kāśa + śara + iṣīkā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समाहार/इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वः (various grasses: kuśa, kāśa, śara, iṣīkā)
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Compound: Dvandva

• ye: which / those
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; सम्बन्धक (relative pronoun)
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)

• ca: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)

• kaṇṭakinaḥ: thorny
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kaṇṭakin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (drumāḥ)
• Role: Kartṛ-samānādhikaraṇa (कर्तृसमानाधिकरण)

• drumāḥ: trees
• Type: Noun
• Root: druma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)

• tūlājinasamasparśāḥ: having a touch like cotton and deerskin
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tūla + ajina + sama + sparśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष-भावः: ‘tūlājina-sama-sparśa’ = having touch like cotton and antelope-skin; विशेषणम् (drumāḥ/te)
• Role: Kartṛ-samānādhikaraṇa (कर्तृसमानाधिकरण)
• Compound: Tatpurusha

• mārge: on the path
• Type: Noun
• Root: mārga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन
• Role: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)

• mama: for me / of me
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)

• saha: together with
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: saha (अव्यय)
• Form: सह-अव्यय (with)
• Role: Sahakāraka (सहकारक)

• tvayā: you
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन
• Role: Sahakāraka (सहकारक)

Sandhi Notes

• Compound kuśakāśaśareṣīkāḥ treated as dvandva list
• tūlājinasamasparśāḥ analyzed as multi-member tatpurusha/karmadharaya-like descriptive compound

Context

The white reeds, the kusha, the sara and the ishika grasses and thorny trees on the way will feel as soft as cotton or as the skin of a black antelope.

The teaching

The presence of one’s dharmic companion can transmute pain into comfort; intention governs experience.

Duties in tension

• Safety/comfort expected for a princess vs chosen hardship of vanavāsa
• Rama’s protective duty vs Sita’s insistence on shared exile

Ethical theme

Gṛhastha-dharma / anugamana (spousal solidarity)

How it resolves

Voluntary embrace of hardship as dharmic companionship

For your practice

Cultivating titikṣā (forbearance) supported by loving commitment; seeing sacredness even in rough conditions.

Mood and themes

Rasa

Shringara (love), with Adbhuta (wonder)

Mood

Steadfast, comforting, idealizing

Themes

• Dharma
• Ethics
• Maryada
• Satya
• Renunciation

Symbolism

Relationships

Cross references

Meter and recitation

Characters & Entities

• Sītā
• Rāma
• Kuśa grass

FAQs

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

Dharma as transformative love aligned with righteousness: when one’s purpose is true, even harsh conditions are accepted without resentment.

What is the narrative situation?

Sītā argues that the physical discomforts of the forest path will not trouble her if she can accompany Rama.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

Steadfast devotion and mental endurance—she shows the ability to bear difficulty through clarity of commitment.