Valmiki Ramayana 2.63.38-39: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 63, Shlokas 38-39
दशरथस्य शोकानुचिन्तनं शब्धवेधि-दोषस्मरणं च
Daśaratha’s grief, karmic reflection, and the remembered ‘śabdavedhī’ misdeed
Spoken by King DaśarathaSetting: Sarayū riverbank (tīra)Places named: SarayūArrival at the source of the cry
तं देशमहमागम्य दीनसत्त्वस्सुदुर्मनाः ।
अपश्यमिषुणा तीरे सरय्वास्तापसं हतम् ॥३८॥
अवकीर्ण जटाभारं प्रविद्धकलशोदकम् ।
पांसुशोणितदिग्धाङ्गं शयानं शल्यपीडितम् ॥३९॥
taṃ deśam aham āgamya dīnasattvaḥ sudurmanāḥ |
apaśyam iṣuṇā tīre sarayvāḥ tāpasaṃ hatam ||38||
avakīrṇajaṭābhāraṃ praviddhakalaśodakam |
pāṃsuśoṇitadigdhāṅgaṃ śayānaṃ śalyapīḍitam ||39||
मैं उस जगह पहुँचा, बिल्कुल हिम्मत टूटा हुआ। सरयू नदी के किनारे मैंने एक तपस्वी को देखा, मेरे तीर से मारा हुआ। उसके बाल बिखरे हुए थे, पानी का लोटा गिर गया था। उसका बदन धूल और खून से लगा था, वो तीर से ज़ख्मी पड़ा था।
Sandhi Notes
- देशमहमागम्य = देशम् + अहम् + आगम्य
- अपश्यमिषुणा = अपश्यम् + इषुणा
- सरय्वास्तापसम् = सरय्वाः + तापसम्
- अवकीर्ण जटाभारम् → अवकीर्णजटाभारम्
- प्रविद्ध कलशोदकम् → प्रविद्धकलशोदकम्
- पांसुशोणितदिग्धाङ्गम् = पांसु + शोणित + दिग्ध + अङ्गम्
With dissipated energy and intensely troubled mind, I reached the bank of river Sarayu and there I saw the ascetic lying struck by the arrow and with scattered locks of hair. The water pitcher was thrown away and his body smeared with blood and dust as he lay on the ground.
The teaching
Power without discernment becomes violence; the ruler’s first dharma is protection of the vulnerable and the holy.
Duties in tension
- King’s duty to safeguard ascetics vs pursuit of game
- Use of weapons vs discernment of target (sound-based shooting)
- Ethical theme
- Harm to innocent/ascetic; failure of due discernment
- How it resolves
- Recognition and impending confession—visual certainty forces moral reckoning
For your practice
Meditation on ahiṃsā and reverence for tapas; prompts repentance and carefulness in action (apramāda).
Mood and themes
- Rasa
- Karuna (compassion), with Bibhatsa (disgust)
- Mood
- Grisly, pitiful, shattering
Themes
- Dharma
- Ethics
- Ahimsa (non-harm)
- Remorse
- Karma (consequence)
- Itihasa
The pure (tapasvin by the river) is struck by the impure impulse (heedless hunting), illustrating how ignorance-driven action disturbs the sattvic order; repentance is the first step toward restoring inner harmony.
Īśā Upaniṣad’s call to see all as pervaded by the Lord—failure of such vision leads to हिंसा and consequent sorrow.
Rātri
- Dasharatha and Shravana
- Perpetrator beholds victim; compassion mixed with dread (horror and pity)
- Shravana and Sarayu River
- Ascetic’s riverbank life of purity disrupted by violence (tragic contrast)
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.63.39-40 (the ascetic’s gaze and rebuke; curse follows); Mahābhārata: themes of accidental killing of ascetics leading to curses (various episodes, e.g., hunting-related transgressions)
Purāṇic motif: harm to tapasvins brings immediate spiritual consequence to rulers
Ayodhyākāṇḍa: Sarayū as Ayodhyā’s sacred river; later, Daśaratha’s death and Rāma’s departure resonate with Sarayū’s liminal symbolism
Anuṣṭup (śloka)
Narrative
Heavy, slow descent; emphasize caesura-like pauses on visual details (jaṭā/kalaśa/śoṇita)
FAQs
The verse underscores the dharmic gravity of unintended violence: even accidental harm to the innocent (especially an ascetic) is a profound ethical rupture that demands recognition, remorse, and responsibility.
Daśaratha approaches the source of the voice and discovers the wounded ascetic youth on the Sarayū’s bank, confirming that his shot has struck a blameless person.
Truth-facing courage (satya toward oneself): the king does not avert his eyes; he confronts the reality of harm, which becomes the basis for later confession and consequence.
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