Valmiki Ramayana 2.40.5: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 40, Shloka 5
प्रयाणवर्णनम्
Departure from Ayodhya; Civic Lament and the Chariot’s Urgency
Addressed to LakshmanaSetting: Ayodhya (royal setting near departure)Places named: vana (forest)Pre-departure instruction before forest journey
सृष्टस्त्वं वनवासाय स्वनुरक्तस्सुहृज्जने ।
रामे प्रमादं मा कार्षीः पुत्र भ्रातरि गच्छति ॥५॥
sṛṣṭas tvaṃ vanavāsāya svanuraktaḥ suhṛjjane |
rāme pramādaṃ mā kārṣīḥ putra bhrātari gacchati ||5||
तुम वनवास के लिए बने हो। अपने दोस्तों से तुम्हारा दिल लगा है। बेटा, अपने भाई राम के साथ जाते वक्त ध्यान मत खोजो।
Sandhi Notes
- sṛṣṭastvaṃ → sṛṣṭaḥ tvam
- svanuraktassuhṛjjane → sva-anuraktaḥ suhṛt-jane
Although deeply attached to your beloved ones, O Son, you are born to dwell in the forest. Never be inattentive towards your brother Rama who is on his way (to the forest).
The teaching
Affection is natural, but dharma demands vigilant service to the elder, especially in hardship.
Duties in tension
- Attachment to companions and comforts
- Duty to accompany/serve Rama in exile with vigilance
- Ethical theme
- Kula-dharma (family duty) and sevā-dharma
- How it resolves
- Explicit injunction (apramāda) prioritizing fraternal duty
For your practice
A practical sādhanā of apramāda: steady attentiveness in service and protection of the righteous.
Mood and themes
- Rasa
- Karuna (compassion), with Vira (heroism)
- Mood
- Urgent, protective, foreboding
Themes
- Dharma
- Satya
- Bhratr-dharma
- Seva
- Maryada
- Itihasa
- Ethics
Apramāda is a guard of the inner path: as the seeker must not be negligent when the ‘higher Self’ (jyeṣṭha) leads, so Lakṣmaṇa must not lapse in service to Rama.
Apramāda praised as the path to immortality (echoing the Upaniṣadic valuation of vigilance and self-control).
- Dasharatha and Lakshmana
- Father advising son (anxious-protective)
- Lakshmana and Rama
- Younger brother’s guardianship/service to elder (devoted-vigilant)
- Dasharatha and Rama
- Father sending son to exile (painful duty) (grief-stricken-resigned)
Valmiki Ramayana 2.40.6 (dharma of obeying the elder); Valmiki Ramayana 2.20-2.23 (Lakshmana’s resolve to follow Rama); Mahābhārata: teachings on apramāda and service to elders (vidura-nīti parallels)
Upaniṣadic/Smṛti emphasis on apramāda (vigilance)
Ayodhyākāṇḍa: Dasaratha’s counsel to Lakshmana during Rama’s departure
Anuṣṭup
Commanding
Madhyama-sthāyi with crisp emphasis on ‘mā kārṣīḥ’
FAQs
Bhrātṛ-dharma (brotherly duty): unwavering attentiveness and protective support toward one’s elder brother who walks the path of satya and duty.
An elder (likely Daśaratha) instructs a son (likely Lakṣmaṇa) that forest-life is his lot and warns him to remain vigilant in service to Rāma during the journey/exile.
Sevā (service) and apramāda (non-negligence/vigilance) in supporting dharma through loyal companionship.
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Valmiki Ramayana in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.
