Valmiki Ramayana 2.36.9: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 36, Shloka 9
अयोध्याकाण्डे षट्त्रिंशः सर्गः · Daśaratha’s orders for Rama’s escort; Kaikeyi’s fear; the Asamañjasa precedent
Spoken by KaikeyiSetting: AyodhyaPlaces named: Ayodhyā
भरतश्च महाबाहुरयोध्यां पालयिष्यति ।
सर्वकामैः सह श्रीमान् रामः संसाध्यतामिति ॥९॥
bharataś ca mahābāhur ayodhyāṃ pālayiṣyati |
sarvakāmaiḥ saha śrīmān rāmaḥ saṃsādhyatām iti ||9||
भरत अयोध्या का राज करेगा, वो बड़ा बलवान है। और राम को सारी चीज़ें मिलें जो उनकी ज़रूरत है। यह फैसला हुआ था।
Sandhi Notes
- bharataś ca = bharataḥ + ca
- mahābāhur ayodhyām = mahā-bāhuḥ + ayodhyām
- rāmaḥ saṃsādhyatām iti = rāmaḥ + saṃsādhyatām + iti
(While) mighty-armed Bharata will rule Ayodhya, Rama be furnished with all objects of enjoyment.
The teaching
Material compensation cannot rectify adharma; legitimacy rests on righteousness and consent of the virtuous.
Duties in tension
- Succession by primogeniture/king’s prior intent vs. queen’s boon-driven claim
- Brotherly loyalty vs. political expediency
- Justice vs. appeasement through material comfort
- Ethical theme
- Rājadharma/nyāya
- How it resolves
- Deferred—later corrected by Bharata’s refusal and regency in Rama’s name
For your practice
Contemplate śreyas over preyas; practice non-attachment to status and comfort while holding to dharma.
Mood and themes
- Rasa
- Karuna (compassion), with Shanta (peace)
- Mood
- Politic, strained, foreboding
Themes
- Dharma
- Satya
- Kingship
- Succession
- Political ethics
- Itihasa
The insufficiency of external 'sarva-kāma' to compensate for dharma-violation; true welfare is alignment with righteousness, not comfort.
Kaṭha Upaniṣad’s contrast of śreyas vs. preyas: comforts (preyas) offered while the higher good (śreyas) is compromised.
- Bharata and Ayodhya
- Regent-kingdom governance
- Rama and Bharata
- Brothers; succession displacement (implied) (mixed)
- Rama and Ayodhya
- Rightful-heir vs. reassigned status (mixed)
Valmiki Ramayana 2.14-2.16 (Kaikeyi’s boons and succession reversal); Valmiki Ramayana 2.99-2.103 (Bharata’s refusal and Rama’s sandals)
Rājadharma discussions in Mahābhārata (Śānti Parva) on rightful rule and legitimacy
Ayodhya-kanda succession crisis arc; later resolution through Bharata’s regency in Rama’s name
Anuṣṭup (śloka)
Narrative
Mandra-to-madhya with a restrained cadence, emphasizing 'pālayiṣyati' and 'saṃsādhyatām'
FAQs
It reflects the dharmic concern for orderly governance (Ayodhyā must be protected) alongside the obligation to ensure the welfare of one sent away—public duty and personal duty are both invoked.
The verse expresses the arrangement envisioned during the exile crisis: Bharata’s kingship and Rāma’s support.
Statecraft and responsibility—ensuring continuity of rule and provision, even amid moral and familial conflict.
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