Valmiki Ramayana 1.40.26-27: Bala Kanda, Sarga 40, Shlokas 26-27

सगरपुत्राणां रसातलगमनम् · The Descent of Sagara’s Sons and the Wrath of Kapila

Addressed to RamaSetting: Kapila’s vicinity at the excavation terminus (implied)Repeated confrontation onset (recensional doubling)

Devanagari script

ते तं हयवरं ज्ञात्वा क्रोधपर्याकुलेक्षणाः ॥२६॥

खनित्रलाङ्गलधरा नानावृक्षशिलाधराः ।

अभ्यधावन्त सङ्क्रुद्धास्तिष्ठ तिष्ठेति चाब्रुवन् ॥२७॥

Recitation with translationValmiki Ramayana 1.40.26-27

Transliteration

te taṃ hayavaraṃ jñātvā krodhaparyākulekṣaṇāḥ ||26||

khanitralāṅgaladharā nānāvṛkṣaśilādharāḥ |

abhyadhāvanta saṅkruddhās tiṣṭha tiṣṭheti cābruvan ||27||

Translation

जब उन्होंने घोड़ा देखा तो गुस्सा और बढ़ गया। हाथ में बेलचा और हथौड़ा लिए थे। पत्थर और लकड़ियाँ भी उठाई थीं। भाग के पास गए और चिल्लाए, रुको रुको।

Ask anything about this verse...Ask

Word by Word

• asmākam: of us/our
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun, Genitive (षष्ठी) Plural
• Role: Sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)

• tvam: you
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun, Nominative Singular
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)

• hi: indeed/for
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya, particle (निपात) giving emphasis/reason
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)

• turagam: horse
• Type: Noun
• Root: turaga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative Singular
• Role: Karma (कर्म)

• yajñīyam: sacrificial/fit for sacrifice
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yajñīya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative Singular; agrees with turagam
• Role: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषणम्)

• hṛtavān: has stolen/taken away
• Type: Verb
• Root: hṛ (धातु)
• Form: Periphrastic perfect participle (लिट्-परिप्रयोग/क्तवत्), Masculine Nominative Singular; with auxiliary asi
• Role: Kriyā (क्रिया)

• asi: you are (i.e., you have)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: Present (लट्), Parasmaipada, 2nd person Singular; auxiliary with hṛtavān
• Role: Kriyā (क्रिया)

• durmedhaḥ: O evil-minded one
• Type: Noun
• Root: durmedhas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Bahuvrīhi: ‘of bad intellect’; Masculine, Vocative Singular (सम्बोधन)
• Role: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Compound: Bahuvrihi

• tvam: you
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun, Nominative Singular
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)

• hi: indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya, particle
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)

• samprāptān: arrived/come here
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam-prāp (धातु)
• Form: Past participle (क्त) from √prāp with upasarga सम्; Masculine, Accusative Plural; agrees with sagarātmajān
• Role: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषणम्)

• viddhi: know/understand
• Type: Verb
• Root: vid (धातु)
• Form: Imperative (लोट्), Parasmaipada, 2nd person Singular
• Role: Kriyā (क्रिया)

• naḥ: us
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun, Accusative (द्वितीया) Plural; enclitic form
• Role: Karma (कर्म)

• sagarātmajān: the sons of Sagara
• Type: Noun
• Root: sagara (प्रातिपदिक) + ātmaja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष) ‘Sagara’s sons’; Masculine, Accusative Plural
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Compound: Tatpurusha

Sandhi Notes

• durmedhastvam = durmedhaḥ + tvam
• viddhi nassagarātmajān = viddhi + naḥ + sagarātmajān.

Context

They recognised that best of horses. Their eyes were red with anger. Armed with spades, plough-shares and every kind of tree and stone and furious with wrath, they rushed towards Kapila shouting, wait, wait!

The teaching

Repetition underscores the moral blindness of anger: the same impulse reasserts itself until it meets an immovable spiritual law.

Duties in tension

• Protecting royal rite (aśvamedha)
• Non-offense toward sages and the divine
• Self-governance vs mob aggression

Ethical theme

Anger; collective wrongdoing; reverence

How it resolves

Tragic consequence (implied next)

For your practice

Use the verse as a cautionary japa-reflection on krodha; pause before accusation; honor tapas and stillness.

Mood and themes

Rasa

Raudra (fury), with Bhayanaka (fear)

Mood

Incensed, unyielding, menacing

Themes

• Itihasa
• Dharma
• Textual variation (Southern Recension duplication)
• Anger (Krodha)

Symbolism

Relationships

Cross references

Meter and recitation

Characters & Entities

• Sagarātmajāḥ (sons of Sagara)
• Aśvamedha horse (hayavara)

FAQs

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

Righteous pursuit must be governed by restraint; dharma is compromised when anger becomes the motive force of action.

What is the narrative situation?

A duplicated transmission of the armed rush by Sagara’s sons upon finding the horse.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

The implied virtue is self-control; the narrative shows its absence as anger escalates toward violence.