Valmiki Ramayana 2.39.34: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 39, Shloka 34
एकोनचत्वारिंशः सर्गः · Dasaratha’s Lament, Sumantra’s Commission, and Sita’s Vow of Marital Dharma
Spoken by Rama to KausalyaSetting: Ayodhya palacePlaces named: Ayodhya, forest (vana)Pre-departure counsel before vana-vāsa
अम्ब मा दुःखिता भूस्त्वं पश्य त्वं पितरं मम ॥
क्षयो हि वनवासस्य क्षिप्रमेव भविष्यति ॥३४॥
amba mā duḥkhitā bhūs tvaṃ paśya tvaṃ pitaraṃ mama ||
kṣayo hi vanavāsasya kṣipram eva bhaviṣyati ||34||
「母上、嘆かないでください。どうか父上をお守りください。この森での流離の終わりは、まもなく訪れます。」
Sandhi Notes
- भूस्त्वं = भूः + त्वम् (विसर्ग-सन्धि: ः + त → स् + त)
- क्षिप्रमेव = क्षिप्रम् + एव
O mother, do not grieve. Look after my father. My stay in the forest will soon come to an end.
The teaching
Even in separation, dharma continues as care for those who remain; endurance is strengthened by remembering the limit of hardship.
Duties in tension
- Kauśalyā’s grief as mother vs composure as queen
- Duty to support Daśaratha vs personal sorrow at separation
- Ethical theme
- Gṛhastha-dharma / filial duty
- How it resolves
- Duty-prioritization with hope: care for the king; trust the time-bound nature of exile
For your practice
Practice of consoling speech (hita-vākya) and patience; transforms crisis into service to elders.
Mood and themes
- Rasa
- Karuna (compassion), with Shanta (peace)
- Mood
- Consoling, steadfast, hope-giving
Themes
- Dharma
- Satya
- Maryādā
- Filial duty
- Self-control
Suffering is time-bound (anitya); steadiness comes from seeing an ‘end’ to conditions while holding to duty.
Īśa Upaniṣad’s spirit of renunciation-with-duty: accepting what comes without inner agitation, while performing one’s role.
- Rama and Kausalya
- Son consoling mother; reassurance (protective tenderness)
- Kausalya and Dasharatha
- Wife’s duty of care toward husband; requested by son (concerned responsibility)
- Rama and Dasharatha
- Son’s concern for father’s welfare; filial duty (dutiful care)
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.40 (Rāma’s continued consolations and instructions); Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.42 (Daśaratha’s collapse; relevance of ‘look after my father’)
Rāmacaritamānasa, Ayodhyākāṇḍa (Rāma consoling Kauśalyā; emphasis on patience and duty)
Ayodhyākāṇḍa: repeated motif of ‘do not grieve’ addressed to elders and citizens
Anuṣṭup (śloka)
Solemn
Mandra-sthāyi opening, gentle rise to madhya
FAQs
Rāma places duty above personal sorrow: he urges care for the king and steadiness of mind, showing dharma as responsibility toward parents and the stability of the household/kingdom.
As Rāma prepares to depart for exile, he consoles Kauśalyā and asks her to attend to Daśaratha, who is devastated.
Rāma’s compassion and restraint—he comforts others even while facing hardship himself.
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