Valmiki Ramayana 2.72.22: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 72, Shloka 22
भरतस्य मातृसदनगमनं कैकेय्या दारुणवृत्तान्तकथनं च
Bharata in Kaikeyi’s apartments: revelation of Daśaratha’s death and Rāma’s exile
तमार्तं देवसङ्काशं समीक्ष्य पतितं भुवि।निकृत्तमिव सालस्य स्कन्धं परशुना वने।।2.72.22।।मत्तमातङ्गसङ्काशं चन्द्रार्कसदृशं भुवः।उत्थापयित्वा शोकार्तं वचनं चेदमब्रवीत्।।2.72.23।।
tam ārtaṃ deva-saṅkāśaṃ samīkṣya patitaṃ bhuvi | nikṛttam iva sālasya skandhaṃ paraśunā vane || 2.72.22 ||
Melihat dia yang merana—bak dewa—terjatuh di bumi, ia memandangnya laksana batang pohon sāla di hutan yang ditebas kapak hingga rebah.
Anguished and griefstricken, he who resembled the gods, fell down on the ground like a trunk of the sala tree in the forest severed by an axe. Seeing her son who was like a mighty elephant or like the Sun or the Moon, Kaikeyi lifted him up from the ground and spoke these words:
FAQs
The verse highlights compassion as a dharmic response: witnessing suffering calls for attentive care rather than indifference.
Bharata collapses in grief; Kaikeyī (implied by “she”) sees him lying on the ground.
Empathy (dayā) is suggested—recognizing another’s pain as grave and real.
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