Valmiki Ramayana 2.113.23: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 113, Shloka 23
पादुकाप्रदानं भरतस्य निवृत्तिश्च
The Sandals Bestowed; Bharata’s Return Toward Ayodhya
Setting: Ayodhyā (in sight/at approach)Places named: अयोध्याArrival/first sight of Ayodhyā after return
अयोध्यां च ततो दृष्ट्वा पित्रा भ्रात्रा विवर्जिताम् ।
भरतो दुःख सन्तप्त स्सारथिं चेदमब्रवीत् ॥२३॥
ayodhyāṃ ca tato dṛṣṭvā pitrā bhrātrā vivarjitām |
bharato duḥkhasantaptaḥ sārathiṃ cedam abravīt ||23||
ನಂತರ ತಂದೆಯೂ ಸಹೋದರರೂ ಇಲ್ಲದ ಅಯೋಧ್ಯೆಯನ್ನು ನೋಡಿ, ದುಃಖದಿಂದ ದಹಿಸಿದ ಭರತನು ಸಾರಥಿಗೆ ಈ ಮಾತುಗಳನ್ನು ಹೇಳಿದನು.
Sandhi Notes
- duḥkha santaptaḥ → duḥkhasantaptaḥ
- cēdamabravīt → ca + idam + abravīt
On seeing the city of Ayodhya bereft of his father and brothers, Bharata, consumed with grief, said to the charioteer:
The teaching
True loyalty to family and kingdom requires facing grief without letting it collapse duty.
Duties in tension
- पुत्रधर्म: mourning and rites for the deceased father
- राजधर्म: restore order in a leaderless capital
- भ्रातृधर्म: uphold Rāma’s claim and seek his return
- Ethical theme
- पुत्रधर्म/राजधर्म
- How it resolves
- Prioritization through dharma: grief acknowledged, action directed toward rightful succession and stability
For your practice
Teaches grief-transformation: allow sorrow to refine resolve and humility rather than harden into resentment.
Mood and themes
- Rasa
- Karuna (compassion), with Shanta (peace)
- Mood
- Bereft, burning, hollow
Themes
- Dharma
- Satya
- Grief
- Itihasa
- Ethics
The city’s emptiness mirrors inner śūnyatā when attachments (father, brothers) are removed; grief arises from identification with changing relations.
Echo of the teaching that what is प्रिय (dear) is the cause of sorrow when lost (later Upaniṣadic sentiment), dramatized through Bharata’s vision.
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.70-2.73 (Bharata learns of Daśaratha’s death and laments); Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.112-2.114 (Ayodhyā’s desolation sequence)
Mahābhārata: city-in-mourning descriptions after great losses (e.g., Hastināpura after war)
Ayodhyākāṇḍa: Daśaratha’s death caused by separation from Rāma (2.64-2.66 thematic linkage)
Anuṣṭup (śloka)
Grieving
Lower register, slow vilambita; emphasis on विवर्जिताम् / दुःखसन्तप्तः
FAQs
Dharma includes truthful recognition of loss: Bharata does not deny the kingdom’s emptiness without its rightful figures; grief becomes a moral awareness of rupture in order.
Ayodhyā comes into sight; Bharata notices the city’s desolation after Daśaratha’s death and Rāma’s absence, and begins speaking to his charioteer.
Sensitivity and integrity—Bharata’s sorrow reflects loyalty and an inner refusal to treat the throne as a mere prize.
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