Valmiki Ramayana 1.74.11: Bala Kanda, Sarga 74, Shloka 11
परशुरामप्रादुर्भावः · The Appearance of Parasurama on the Return from Mithila
Spoken by Dasharatha to VasisthaSetting: Mithilā environs / royal routePre-departure omen-sighting
असौम्याः पक्षिणो घोरा मृगाश्चापि प्रदक्षिणाः ॥११॥
किमिदं हृदयोत्कम्पि मनो मम विषीदति ।
asaumyāḥ pakṣiṇo ghorā mṛgāś cāpi pradakṣiṇāḥ ||11||
kim idaṃ hṛdayotkampi mano mama viṣīdati |
पक्छियों की आवाज़ें बुरी लग रही हैं, डर भी लगता है। पर मृग दाईं तरफ़ जा रहे हैं, यह अच्छी बात है। मेरा दिल काँप रहा है और मन दुखी हो रहा है। क्या हो रहा है?
Sandhi Notes
- मृगाश्चापि = मृगाः + च + अपि
- किमिदं = किम् + इदम् (सन्धि)
"While the frightening birds are inauspicious, the deer on the right are favourables Why is this? My heart beats. My mind is depressed.
The teaching
Mixed signs can shake the heart; naming the fear is the first step toward wise response.
Duties in tension
- Maintain royal composure and protect entourage
- Acknowledge inner fear and seek clarification before action
- Ethical theme
- Self-governance (indriya/mano-nigraha) within rājadharma
- How it resolves
- Recognition-of-inner-state leading to counsel-seeking
For your practice
Useful for contemplation on observing fear without being ruled by it; prompts turning to dharmic guidance.
Mood and themes
- Rasa
- Bhayanaka (fear), with Karuna (compassion)
- Mood
- Trembling, foreboding, downcast
Themes
- Dharma
- Nimitta (omens)
- Inner conscience
- Itihāsa
- Ethics
The mind oscillates between contradictory pramāṇas; need for buddhi guided by śāstra/guru to resolve saṃśaya.
Katha-like imagery of mind as unsettled chariot-driver when omens (sense-objects) disturb inner steadiness (echo in spirit).
- Dasharatha and Birds
- Omen-recipient-to-ominous-messengers (fearful-aversion)
Rāmāyaṇa 1.74.14 (resolution/interpretation of the mixed omens); Mahābhārata: śakuna (bird-omen) passages before major turns (general parallel)
Śakuna-śāstra traditions (bird omens)
Ayodhyākāṇḍa: DaśarathaǶ3s later viṣāda and foreboding before RāmaǶ3s exile (thematic parallel)
Anuṣṭubh
Grieving
Niṣāda-gāndhāra leaning (lower, quivering intonation)
FAQs
Dharma includes vigilance: mixed signs prompt reflection and seeking guidance rather than reckless action; inner unease is treated seriously, not ignored.
Daśaratha observes contradictory omens—inauspicious birds but auspicious right-moving deer—and expresses anxiety to Vasiṣṭha.
Sensitivity and responsibility: the king’s conscience reacts to possible danger, showing concern for outcomes affecting others.
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