Valmiki Ramayana 2.4.20: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 4, Shloka 20
अयोध्याकाण्डे चतुर्थः सर्गः · Rāma Summoned; Pushya Coronation Decision
Spoken by Dasharatha to RamaSetting: Ayodhya—royal palacePlaces named: Ayodhya
तद्यावदेव मे चेतो न विमुह्यति राघव ।
तावदेवाभिषिञ्चस्व चला हि प्राणिनां मतिः ॥२०॥
tad yāvad eva me ceto na vimuhyati rāghava |
tāvad evābhiṣiñcasva calā hi prāṇināṃ matiḥ ||20||
जब तक मेरा दिमाग सही चल रहा है, तब तक राम का राज तिलक कर दो। लोगों का मन बहुत चंचल है, कभी भी बदल सकता है।
Sandhi Notes
- tadyāvadēva = tat + yāvat + eva
- tāvadēvābhiṣiñcasva = tāvat + eva + abhiṣiñcasva
- prāṇināṅ = prāṇinām (anusvāra sandhi)
Therefore, before my mind is deluded I wish to see you installed as heir-apparent for a man's mind is unstable indeed, O Rama!.
The teaching
Act while discernment is clear; the mind is fickle, and delay can invite disorder.
Duties in tension
- Ensuring political stability through timely consecration vs. adherence to measured ritual pace and counsel
- Personal anxiety about mental decline vs. kingly composure
- Ethical theme
- Rāja-nīti; prudence under uncertainty
- How it resolves
- Expedient action (kārya-tvarā) urged to preempt instability
For your practice
Reminder to act from clarity before mental agitation grows; supports practices of steadiness (dhṛti) and mindfulness.
Mood and themes
- Rasa
- Bhayanaka (fear), with Vira (heroism)
- Mood
- Urgent, wavering, pressing
Themes
- Dharma
- Satya
- Rajadharma
- Itihasa
- Ethics
- Impermanence
- Human psychology
Mind’s fickleness (citta-cañcalatā) is a classic obstacle; acting from clarity before tamas/rajas overwhelms echoes the discipline of viveka.
Katha Upaniṣad: the chariot metaphor—mind and senses must be governed; here the king fears loss of inner reins.
- Dasharatha and Rama
- Father urging immediate consecration to secure son’s position (urgent-anxious)
Bhagavad Gītā 2.14-15 (steadiness amid change) and 6.34 (mind’s restlessness) as thematic parallels; Rāmacaritamānasa Ayodhyākāṇḍa: urgency around abhiṣeka before reversal
Sanskrit ethical maxim tradition: act while clarity remains; kāla as decisive
Ayodhyākāṇḍa 2.4: Daśaratha’s haste; later events show the tragic irony of attempted control over fate
Anuṣṭup (śloka)
Commanding
Slightly faster tempo; higher register on ‘अभिषिञ्चस्व’ then resolve downward on ‘चला हि’
FAQs
Dharma requires timely execution of rightful duties; postponement can allow wavering intentions and external pressures to derail what is just.
Daśaratha presses Rāma to accept immediate consecration, motivated by anxiety and the unpredictability of human decisions.
Daśaratha’s urgency to secure a dharmic transition of power, recognizing the fragility of resolve.
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