Valmiki Ramayana 2.58.6: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 58, Shloka 6

अष्टपञ्चाशः सर्गः (Sarga 58): Daśaratha Questions Sumantra; Messages from the Forest Threshold

Spoken by Dasharatha to SumantraSetting: Ayodhyā (palace)Places named: bhūmi (bare ground)Imagined forest hardship

Devanagari script

दुःखस्यानुचितो दुःखं सुमन्त्र शयनोचितः ।

भूमिपालात्मजो भूमौ शेते कथमनाथवत् ॥६॥

Recitation with translationValmiki Ramayana 2.58.6

Transliteration

duḥkhasyānucito duḥkhaṃ sumantra śayanocitaḥ |

bhūmipālātmajo bhūmau śete katham anāthavat ||6||

Translation

सुमंत्र, यह दुख के लायक नहीं है। वो अच्छी खाटरी में सोने का आदमी है। राजा का बेटा ज़मीन पर कैसे सो सकता है? बिना किसी के सहारे, ऐसे जैसे कोई उसका अपना न हो।

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Word by Word

• duḥkhasya: of sorrow
• Type: Noun
• Root: duḥkha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napuṃsakaliṅga, Ṣaṣṭhī-vibhakti (Genitive/6th), Ekavacana
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive relation)

• anucitaḥ: not fit/undeserving
• Type: Adjective
• Root: an-ucita (कृदन्त/PPP of √ci ‘to befit’ with prefix)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; predicate adjective of bhūmipālātmajaḥ
• Role: Karta (कर्ता-viśeṣaṇa)

• duḥkham: sorrow
• Type: Noun
• Root: duḥkha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napuṃsakaliṅga, Dvitīyā (Acc/2nd), Ekavacana
• Role: Karma (कर्म)

• sumantra: O Sumantra
• Type: Noun
• Root: sumantra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Sambodhana (Vocative), Ekavacana
• Role: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)

• śayana-ucitaḥ: accustomed/fit for a bed
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śayana (प्रातिपदिक) + ucita (कृदन्त/PPP of √ci)
• Form: Samāsa: tatpuruṣa (‘fit for a bed/couch’); Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; viśeṣaṇa of bhūmipālātmajaḥ
• Role: Karta (कर्ता-viśeṣaṇa)
• Compound: Tatpurusha

• bhūmipāla-ātmajaḥ: the king’s son
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūmi (प्रातिपदिक) + pāla (प्रातिपदिक) + ātmaja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Samāsa: tatpuruṣa (‘son of the earth-protector/king’); Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Compound: Tatpurusha

• bhūmau: on the ground
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūmi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (Feminine), Saptamī-vibhakti (Locative/7th), Ekavacana
• Role: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/Location)

• śete: lies/sleeps
• Type: Verb
• Root: √śī (धातु)
• Form: Laṭ-lakāra (Present), Prathama-puruṣa (3rd), Ekavacana, Ātmanepada
• Role: Kriyā (क्रिया)

• katham: how
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; interrogative adverb (manner)
• Role: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)

• anāthavat: like an orphan
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: anātha (प्रातिपदिक) + vat (तद्धित)
• Form: Avyaya (adverbial -vat: ‘like’), manner-adverb qualifying śete
• Role: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)

Sandhi Notes

• duḥkhasyānucitaḥ = duḥkhasya + anucitaḥ
• śayanocitaḥ = śayana + ucitaḥ (vowel sandhi)

Context

How can the son of the guardian of the earth who is accustomed to a comfortable bed and not to undeserved suffering lie down on the ground like an orphan, O Sumantra

The teaching

Status cannot guarantee protection; dharma may place the noble on bare earth, testing inner strength and detachment.

Duties in tension

• Royal obligation to uphold vows vs obligation to ensure heir’s dignity and safety
• Ideal of ascetic endurance vs parental protection

Ethical theme

Dharma-saṅkaṭa (familial vs regal)

How it resolves

Emotional protest within accepted outcome

For your practice

Reflection on humility and the leveling power of earth; supports practices of simplicity and compassion.

Mood and themes

Rasa

Karuna (compassion)

Mood

Helpless, aching, indignant

Themes

• Dharma
• Itihasa
• Kingship
• Compassion
• Exile

Symbolism

Relationships

Cross references

Meter and recitation

Characters & Entities

• Dasharatha
• Sumantra
• Rama

FAQs

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

The verse highlights the tension between royal comfort and dharmic renunciation: dharma may demand that even a prince accept austerity.

What is the narrative situation?

Dasharatha laments the thought of Rama sleeping on the ground in the forest, far from palace protections.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

Dasharatha’s protective parental love; and implicitly, Rama’s capacity to endure hardship for truth.