Valmiki Ramayana 1.8.2: Bala Kanda, Sarga 8, Shloka 2
अष्टमः सर्गः · Daśaratha Resolves on the Aśvamedha (Horse
Sacrifice) for Progeny
Setting: अयोध्या
चिन्तयानस्य तस्यैवं बुद्धिरासीन्महात्मनः ।
सुतार्थं हयमेधेन किमर्थं न यजाम्यहम् ॥२॥
cintayānasya tasyaivaṁ buddhir āsīn mahātmanaḥ |
sutārthaṁ hayamedhena kimarthaṁ na yajāmy aham ||2||
राजा दशरथ सोच में पद गए। उनका दिल कह रहा था कि बेटा पाने के लिए मैं अश्वमेध यज्ञ क्यों न करूँ। यह बात उनके मन में आई।
Sandhi Notes
- तान्+पूजयित्वा→तान्पूजयित्वा
- वचनम्+अब्रवीत्→वचनमब्रवीत्
While reflecting over the matter, a thought struck the magnanimous king: 'Why not invoke gods by performing a horse-sacrifice for a son'.
The teaching
A ruler’s private longing is transformed into public dharma through deliberate, lawful means—resolve (buddhi) precedes righteous action.
- Ethical theme
- राजधर्म / संकल्प-नीति
For your practice
Highlights the importance of clear saṅkalpa before undertaking major sādhanā or vows; encourages disciplined planning.
Mood and themes
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism), with Adbhuta (wonder)
- Mood
- Resolute, purposeful, strategic
Themes
- Dharma
- Satya
- Itihasa
- Kingship
- Vedic ritual
- Intent and resolve
From desire to disciplined action: kama becomes karma when regulated by dharma; inner saṅkalpa precedes outer ritual.
The primacy of saṅkalpa/kratu (resolve) as formative of action—echoing early Upaniṣadic emphasis on intention shaping outcome.
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.8.12 (priests’ assurance motivates resolve); Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.9 (execution of the plan)
Śrauta Aśvamedha prescriptions (Taittirīya/Śukla Yajurveda śrauta traditions)
Daśaratha’s earlier anxiety about heirlessness in Bālakāṇḍa narrative leading into this counsel sequence
अनुष्टुप् (śloka)
Narrative
Steady madhyama with slight rise on the rhetorical question ‘किमर्थं न यजाम्यहम्’
FAQs
Dharma here is the king’s responsibility to pursue legitimate aims (such as heirs for dynastic continuity) through sanctioned means—Vedic procedure and disciplined resolve rather than impulse.
Daśaratha, troubled by the lack of sons, reflects and arrives at the decision to undertake the Aśvamedha to obtain progeny.
Prudence and purposeful resolve—he forms a plan aligned with established religious and royal norms.
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