Valmiki Ramayana 2.52.39: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 52, Shloka 39
गङ्गातरणम्, सुमन्त्र-प्रतिनिवर्तनम्, जटाधारणम्
Crossing the Gaṅgā; Sumantra’s Return; Adoption of Ascetic Signs
Spoken by Sumantra to RamaPlaces named: AyodhyāDecision point about returning toward Ayodhyā vs staying with Rāma in exile
कथं हि त्वद्विहीनोऽहं प्रतियास्यामि तां पुरीम् ।
तव तावद्वियोगेन पुत्रशोकाकुलामिव ॥३९॥
kathaṃ hi tvad-vihīno 'haṃ pratiyāsyāmi tāṃ purīm |
tava tāvad-viyogena putraśokākulām iva ||39||
Bagaimana mungkin aku kembali ke kota itu tanpa engkau? Ayodhyā, karena perpisahan darimu, akan menjadi laksana ibu yang gelisah oleh duka kehilangan putra.
Sandhi Notes
- त्वद्विहीनोऽहम् = त्वत् + विहीनः + अहम्
- पुत्रशोकाकुलामिव = पुत्रशोकाकुलाम् + इव
Without you how can I go back to the city (of Ayodhya) which, separated from you, is grieving like a lady who has lost her son?
The teaching
True loyalty weighs the human cost of separation; dharma is not merely procedure but compassionate foresight.
Duties in tension
- Duty to obey Rāma’s instructions (return/arrangements) vs. duty of fraternal attendance and protection
- Civic responsibility toward Ayodhyā vs. personal loyalty to Rāma
- Ethical theme
- Familial duty and compassionate governance
- How it resolves
- Argument from consequences (Ayodhyā’s grief) to justify staying with Rāma
Devotion and practice
Meditation on viraha as a purifier of attachment—turning longing into steadfast service (sevā-bhāva).
- Deity praised
- Rāma
Mood and themes
- Rasa
- Karuna (compassion), with Shanta (peace)
- Mood
- Aching, foreboding, tender-grief
Themes
- Dharma
- Satya
- Loyalty
- Viraha (separation)
- Itihasa
- Ethics
The city’s grief mirrors the jīva’s anguish in separation from its inner ruler; longing becomes a force that turns one toward surrender rather than worldly return.
The motif of ‘without you I cannot return’ echoes the dependence of the finite on the sustaining Self (antar-yāmin) as an existential support.
- Lakshmana and Rama
- Younger brother refusing separation; companion-in-exile (anxious)
- Lakshmana and Ayodhya
- Citizen-son bond via personification; filial belonging to the capital (sorrowful)
- Rama and Ayodhya
- Rightful prince/heart of the city; separation as civic bereavement (lamenting)
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.52.40-41 (city and people shattered seeing the empty chariot); Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.48-2.50 (Ayodhyā’s collective sorrow around Rāma’s departure themes)
Mahābhārata: city/personified kingdom lamenting a hero’s absence (general epic topos)
Ayodhyākāṇḍa laments of citizens and mothers during Rāma’s exile departure scenes
Anuṣṭup
Grieving
Komala-niṣāda shading for lament; slow vilambita
FAQs
Dharma is heartfelt loyalty: a servant’s duty is not mechanical obedience alone but deep identification with the king’s and city’s suffering.
Sumantra expresses his inability to bear returning to Ayodhya without Rama, foreseeing the city’s intense grief.
Compassionate fidelity—Sumantra’s bond with Rama and concern for the city’s emotional state.
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