Ramcharitmanas: Ayodhya Kanda, Prakarana 8
दोहा 73
यह सोपान ‘त्याग-धर्म’ का द्वार है: राजसुख के शिखर पर खड़े होकर भी राम-धर्म के लिए स्वेच्छा से वनगमन स्वीकारते हैं। साधक के भीतर यही रूपांतरण घटता है—‘मेरा अधिकार’ से ‘ईश्वर-आज्ञा’ की ओर, तथा गृह-आश्रय से नाम-आश्रय की ओर। अयोध्या यहाँ ‘अहं-गृह’ का प्रतीक भी है; राम का निष्क्रमण वैराग्य नहीं, धर्म-निष्ठा और लोक-कल्याण-हित करुणा है।
समुझि सुमित्राँ राम सिय रूप सुसीलु सुभाउ।नृप सनेहु लखि धुनेउ सिरु पापिनि दीन्ह कुदाउ।।73।।
samujhi sumitrā̃ rāma siya rūpa susīlu subhāu |nṛpa sanehu lakhi dhuneu siru pāpini dīnha kudāu ||73||
सुमित्रा ने सोचा कि राम और सीता कितने सुंदर हैं, कितने अच्छे स्वभाव के हैं, और उनका राजा के दिल मे कितना प्यार है। ये सब देख के उसने अपना सिर पीटा और बोली, बुरी औरत ने बहुत जुल्म किया।
Speaker
Tulsidas (narrator), with Sumitra's exclamation in the second line
Listener
General audience
Karuna (with Vatsalya undertone)
The scene
The prasanga
In the Ayodhya Kanda, Sumitra has heard of Rama's exile and Lakshmana's wish to go with him. She reflects on the beauty, virtue and gentle nature of Rama and Sita and on the king's love for them. Then she beats her head and says that the wicked woman has played a cruel trick.
The teaching
- Themes
- माता का शोक और विवेक, राम-सीता के रूप, शील और स्वभाव की महिमा, राजा दशरथ का स्नेह, कैकेयी के छल की निंदा, मर्यादा और धैर्य, वात्सल्य और करुणा
For right living (Ramrajya ethics)
The verse marks the contrast between a ruler's love and virtue and a scheming act (कुदाउ) that overturns them. Ramrajya values trust, affection and rightful succession, and Sumitra names the wrong as a wrong while keeping her composure. The ethic is to judge by the worth of the persons involved, not by the stratagems of power.
Nirguna and saguna
The verse dwells on the manifest side: the visible beauty (रूप) and the moral qualities (सुसीलु, सुभाउ) of Rama and Sita. Their goodness is not confined to the form but shows in character, which hints at the formless reality behind the person. The Lord is thus known through His qualities, and the sorrow of the faithful shows how much this saguna presence is loved.
Sumitra, having heard the news of exile, first calls to mind the beauty, the excellent virtue and the gentle nature of Rama and Sita. She also sees the king's deep love for them, and from these two thoughts she grasps the injustice of what has been done. In grief she beats her head and says that the wicked woman has dealt a cruel blow. The commentators note that she does not curse in a rage but grieves with understanding, because the worth of the persons makes the wrong plain. The unnamed 'पापिनि' is Kaikeyi, and 'कुदाउ' marks her act as a treacherous stratagem.
Doha (13/11 matra pattern): the first line scans 13+11 (समुझि सुमित्राँ राम सिय | रूप सुसीलु सुभाउ) and the second 13+11 with the usual relaxation in recitation (नृप सनेहु लखि धुनेउ सिरु | पापिनि दीन्ह कुदाउ). The line ends rhyme in -आउ (सुभाउ, कुदाउ).
Anuprasa (alliteration) on the s-sound: समुझि, सुमित्राँ, सिय, सुसीलु, सुभाउ, सनेहु, सिरु. Yamaka-like echo of the sound in सुसीलु सुभाउ. Lokokti or idiom in 'सिरु धुनेउ' (beating the head) and in 'कुदाउ' (a foul move, a gaming image), which makes the cruelty concrete. Indirect designation (a veiled naming) in 'पापिनि', which points to Kaikeyi without naming her. Kavyalinga (reason and effect): the reflecting and seeing in the first part are the cause of the outburst in the second.
In a Vishishtadvaita reading, Rama and Sita are the Lord and His Shakti, and their rupa, sheel and subhau are real divine attributes, not illusion. Sumitra's reflection (समुझि) rests on these attributes. The pain she feels at their exile shows the devotee's bond to the personal Lord, not detachment from Him.
Raga Bhairavi, whose plaintive, tender mood suits Sumitra's shock and grief and the sorrow of the line 'सिरु धुनेउ'.
समुझि | सुमित्राँ | राम | सिय | रूप | सु-सीलु | सुभाउ |
नृप | सनेहु | लखि | धुनेउ | सिरु | पापिनि | दीन्ह | कुदाउ ||
- समुझि
- समझकर, विचार करकेOrigin: Awadhi
- सनेहु
- स्नेह, प्रेमOrigin: Sanskrit
- धुनेउ
- धुना, पीटा (सिर पीटा)Origin: Awadhi
- पापिनि
- पापी स्त्री, दुष्ट नारीOrigin: Sanskrit
- कुदाउ
- बुरा दाँव, छल की चालOrigin: Awadhi
- How does the use of Sanskritized Awadhi here elevate the 'Loka' (folk) to the 'Shastra' (scriptural)?
- The verse is largely made of Sanskrit-derived words (रूप, सुसीलु, सुभाउ, नृप, सनेहु, पापिनि) set in plain Awadhi syntax. The absolutives समुझि and लखि and the past form धुनेउ are folk grammar. A learned Sanskritic vocabulary of rupa, sheel and sneha therefore sits beside the homely idiom 'सिरु धुनेउ' and the gaming word 'कुदाउ'. This blend lets a village listener grasp scriptural ideas such as the virtue of the avatar without needing Sanskrit. In this way the Loka is raised toward the Shastra without losing its own voice.
- What is the specific 'Siddhanta' (doctrine) Tulsidas establishes regarding the Name (Nama) vs Form (Rupa)?
- This verse does not speak of the Name directly, so it gives no explicit Nama-versus-Rupa doctrine. What it does show is the Rupa side: 'राम सिय रूप' is joined with 'सुसीलु सुभाउ', so form here includes moral character and not only appearance. The names Rama and Sita are the means by which Sumitra holds the persons in mind, and the repeated 'राम सिय' leads straight to their qualities. The doctrine suggested is that the saguna form, with its virtue, is real and is itself the object of love.
- How does this verse reflect the poet's 'Kavi-Manas' (the lake of the poet's mind) metaphor?
- The Manas is likened to a lake of the poet's mind, and the verse shows the mind in two states. In the first line the mind of Sumitra is calm and clear, reflecting (समुझि) the beauty and goodness of Rama and Sita like still water. In the second line the surface is stirred by the sight of the king's love and by the cruel stroke, and the grief breaks out as 'सिरु धुनेउ'. The poet's mind thus moves from reflection to emotion in a single doha, as a lake moves from stillness to ripples.
FAQs
सुमित्रा ने राम और सीता के रूप, सुंदर शील और कोमल स्वभाव को समझा और राजा दशरथ के स्नेह को देखा। इन दोनों बातों से उन्हें अन्याय का बोध हुआ। तब उन्होंने दुख में सिर पीट लिया।
'पापिनि' से संकेत कैकेयी की ओर है, जिसका नाम यहाँ नहीं लिया गया। 'कुदाउ' का अर्थ है बुरा दाँव या छल की चाल, जैसे खेल में कोई धोखे की चाल चलता है। इस प्रकार सुमित्रा कैकेयी के कार्य को छल कहती हैं।
यह दोहा है, जिसमें प्रत्येक पंक्ति में 13 और 11 मात्राएँ होती हैं। पंक्तियों के अंत में तुक मिलती है: 'सुभाउ' और 'कुदाउ'। दोनों में '-आउ' की समान ध्वनि है।
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Ramcharitmanas in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Awadhi recitation where available, and more.
