Valmiki Ramayana 2.73.2: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 73, Shloka 2

भरतस्य कैकेय्याः प्रति धिक्कारः · Bharata’s Rebuke of Kaikeyi and Affirmation of Ikshvaku Royal Dharma

Spoken by Bharata to KaikeyiSetting: Ayodhyā

Devanagari script

किं नु कार्यं हतस्येह मम राज्येन शोचतः ।

विहीनस्याथ पित्रा च भ्रात्रा पितृसमेन च ॥२॥

Recitation with translationValmiki Ramayana 2.73.2

Transliteration

kiṃ nu kāryaṃ hatasyeha mama rājyena śocataḥ |

vihīnasya atha pitrā ca bhrātrā pitṛsamena ca ||2||

Translation

Ketika aku tertimpa malapetaka dan diliputi duka, kehilangan ayahku dan juga saudaraku—yang bagiku laksana ayah—apa gunanya kerajaan ini bagiku sekarang?

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Word by Word

• kim: what
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka, Prathama (1/प्रथमा), Ekavacana; interrogative used predicatively
• Role: Prayojana (प्रयोजन)

• nu: indeed/then
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nu (अव्यय)
• Form: Interrogative/emphatic particle (निपात)
• Role: Nipāta (निपात)

• kāryam: use/need
• Type: Noun
• Root: kārya (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √kṛ कृ + यत्)
• Form: Napumsaka, Prathama, Ekavacana; ‘that which is to be done/utility’
• Role: Pradhāna (प्रधान)

• hatasya: of me, the ruined one
• Type: Adjective
• Root: hata (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √han हन् + kta)
• Form: Pumliṅga, Ṣaṣṭhī (6/षष्ठी), Ekavacana; genitive ‘of the ruined/stricken one’ (speaker)
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)

• iha: here
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iha (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; adverb of place/time
• Role: Deśa/Kāla (देश/काल)

• mama: my
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Ṣaṣṭhī, Ekavacana; pronoun
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)

• rājyena: with the kingdom
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka, Tṛtīyā (3/तृतीया), Ekavacana; instrumental ‘by/with kingdom’
• Role: Karaṇa (करण)

• śocataḥ: of me who grieve
• Type: Verb
• Root: √śuc (शुच्)
• Form: Vartamāna-kṛdanta (शतृ) used as substantive; Pumliṅga, Ṣaṣṭhī, Ekavacana; ‘of (me) grieving’
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)

• vihīnasya: of me, bereft
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vihīna (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; vi-√hā हा + kta)
• Form: Pumliṅga, Ṣaṣṭhī, Ekavacana; ‘bereft’ (speaker)
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)

• atha: and/then
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; connective particle
• Role: Nipāta (निपात)

• pitrā: from/without (my) father
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pumliṅga, Tṛtīyā, Ekavacana; instrumental of separation/association in ‘bereft of’ sense
• Role: Apādāna (अपादान)

• ca: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction
• Role: Nipāta (निपात)

• bhrātrā: from/without (my) brother
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhrātṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pumliṅga, Tṛtīyā, Ekavacana; instrumental in ‘bereft of’ sense
• Role: Apādāna (अपादान)

• pitṛ-samena: from/without (him) who was like a father
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक) + sama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pumliṅga, Tṛtīyā, Ekavacana; tatpuruṣa: pituḥ samaḥ (equal to a father)
• Role: Apādāna (अपादान)
• Compound: Tatpurusha

• ca: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction
• Role: Nipāta (निपात)

Sandhi Notes

• hatasyēha → hatasya iha
• vihīnasyātha → vihīnasya atha
• pitṛsamena → pitṛ-samena

Context

Bereft of my father and my brother who was like a father to me, of what avail is this kingdom to me when I am grieving and fallen into misfortunes?

The teaching

Power without the presence of dharma and rightful relations is tasteless; grief exposes the hollowness of illegitimate gain.

Duties in tension

• Rājadharma (to rule for the realm) vs personal grief and loyalty to rightful king
• Attachment to family vs duty to state

Ethical theme

Artha vs dharma / śoka-nivṛtti

How it resolves

Value-reversal: artha rejected without dharma and rightful order

For your practice

Supports contemplation on impermanence and detachment; transforms grief into dharmic resolve.

Mood and themes

Rasa

Karuna (compassion), with Shanta (peace)

Mood

Bereft, hollow, lamenting

Themes

• Dharma
• Rājadharma
• Śoka (grief)
• Nīti (ethical reasoning)
• Satya

Symbolism

Relationships

Cross references

Meter and recitation

Characters & Entities

• Bharata
• Daśaratha
• Rāma

FAQs

What is the core ethical principle (Dharma) in this verse?

Bharata rejects power divorced from righteousness and family duty; kingship has meaning only when aligned with dharma and the well-being of the rightful order.

What is the narrative situation?

After Daśaratha’s death and Rāma’s exile, Bharata confronts Kaikeyī, expressing that the kingdom is worthless to him amid this unjust rupture.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

Detachment from self-serving power and fidelity to rightful familial and moral order (dharma-niṣṭhā).