Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 74, Shloka 12

भरतस्य कैकेयी-गर्हा तथा सुरभि-दृष्टान्तः

Bharata’s Reproach of Kaikeyi and the Surabhi Exemplum

Devanagari script

कौसल्यां धर्मसंयुक्तां वियुक्तां पापनिश्चये।कृत्वा कं प्राप्स्यसे त्वद्य लोकं निरयगामिनि।।।।

Transliteration

kausalyāṃ dharmasaṃyuktāṃ viyuktāṃ pāpaniścaye | kṛtvā kaṃ prāpsyase tv adya lokaṃ nirayagāmini ||

Translation

罪に固執し地獄へ赴く女よ。正しきカウサリヤーを（その子より）引き離しておきながら、来世にて汝はいかなる世界を得ると思うのか。

Word by Word

• kausalyām: Kausalya
• kausalyām: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kausalyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative (2nd), Singular

• dharma-saṃyuktām: endowed with righteousness
• dharma-saṃyuktām: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dharma (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃyukta (√yuj धातु + क्त)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular; tatpuruṣa: dharmeṇa saṃyuktā (endowed with dharma)

• viyuktām: separated (from her son)
• viyuktām: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi + √yuj (युज् धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: Past participle used adjectivally, Feminine, Accusative, Singular; qualifies kausalyām (separated)

• pāpa-niścaye: O woman of sinful resolve
• pāpa-niścaye: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + niścaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Vocative, Singular; tatpuruṣa: pāpaḥ niścayaḥ yasyāḥ (one of sinful resolve)

• kṛtvā: having done
• kṛtvā: Purvakāla-kriyā (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (कृ धातु) + ktvā (क्त्वा)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वान्त), indeclinable

• kam: which? what?
• kam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular; interrogative pronoun qualifying lokam

• prāpsyase: will you attain
• prāpsyase: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra + √āp (आप् धातु)
• Form: Future (लृट्), 2nd person, Singular; Ātmanepada (आत्मनेपद)

• tu: indeed / then
• tu: Sambandha/Emphasis (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निपात)

• adya: now, today
• adya: Kāla (काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: adya (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (कालवाचक अव्यय)

• lokam: world (afterworld)
• lokam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• niraya-gāmini: O hell-bound one
• niraya-gāmini: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: niraya (प्रातिपदिक) + gāminī (√gam धातु + इनी)
• Form: Feminine, Vocative, Singular; tatpuruṣa: nirayaṃ gacchati iti (hell-going)

Context

O woman of sinful convictions! you will go to hell. You have separated righteous Kausalya from her son. For having committed such a sin, what afterworld awaits you (is not known)?

Characters & Entities

• Bharata
• Kaikeyi
• Kausalyā
• Rama
• Niraya (hell)

FAQs

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

The verse asserts moral causality: harming the righteous and disrupting rightful bonds invites grave karmic consequence.

What is the narrative situation?

Bharata condemns Kaikeyi for causing Kausalyā’s suffering through Rama’s exile.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

Protectiveness toward the virtuous (Kausalyā) and insistence that actions must align with dharma.