Valmiki Ramayana 2.91.58: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 91, Shloka 58
भरद्वाजाश्रमे भरतसैन्यस्य दिव्यात्मिथ्यम् / Divine Hospitality to Bharata’s Army at Bharadvaja’s Hermitage
Encampment/rest halt during Bharata’s march
नाश्वबन्धोऽश्वमाजानान्नगजं कुञ्जरग्रहः ।
मत्तप्रमत्तमुदिता चमूः सा तत्र संबभौ ॥५८॥
nāśvabandho ’śvam ājānān na gajaṃ kuñjaragrahaḥ |
matta-pramatta-muditā camūḥ sā tatra saṃbabhau ||58||
वहाँ पूरा सेना मस्ती में डूब गई थी। जो घोड़े संभालता था, वो अपना घोड़ा पहचान नहीं पा रहा था। जो हाथी संभालता था, वो अपना हाथी भूल गया था। सब नशे में थे, सब पागल हो रहे थे।
Sandhi Notes
- sarvakāmaistē = sarvakāmaiḥ + te (visarga sandhi)
- apsarōgaṇasaṅyuktāḥ = apsaro-gaṇa-saṃyuktāḥ (o from apsaras in compound; anusvāra before yukt)
- vācamudairayan = vācam + udairayan (vowel sandhi)
The horserider no longer recognised the horse or the mahout the elephant and the whole army was inebriated with drinking and pleasure.
The teaching
Pramāda breaks even basic bonds of responsibility; vigilance is itself a form of dharma.
Duties in tension
- Kṣatriya discipline and readiness
- Indulgence in intoxication and revelry
- Ethical theme
- Self-control / rājadharma
- How it resolves
- Implicit critique (narrative exposure of disorder)
For your practice
Reminder for tapas of restraint (indriya-nigraha) and sobriety in duty.
Mood and themes
- Rasa
- Hasya (humour), with Bhayanaka (fear)
- Mood
- Boisterous, disordered, intoxicated
Themes
- Dharma
- Ethics
- Itihasa
- Intoxication
- Loss of self-control
Pramāda as avidyā’s symptom: when discrimination lapses, even the ‘known’ (one’s own horse/elephant) becomes unrecognized.
Kaṭha-like warning: when the senses and mind are unbridled, the ‘chariot’ imagery collapses into confusion (implicit contrast).
Mahābhārata: recurring critiques of mada/pramāda in camps and courts (general parallel)
Dharmaśāstra cautions against intoxication for kṣatriyas (implicit)
Ayodhyākāṇḍa: descriptions of Bharata’s large host and its camp-life; later contrasts with Rāma’s austere forest discipline
Anuṣṭup (śloka)
Narrative
Quickened tempo with slight comedic lift, then settle
FAQs
It serves as an ethical caution: indulgence that destroys awareness leads to negligence of duty (pramāda), which dharma repeatedly warns against.
After lavish hospitality, the army becomes intoxicated and disorderly, forgetting even their own animals and roles.
By contrast (through negative example), the virtue emphasized is self-restraint and mindfulness—needed to preserve responsibility.
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