Valmiki Ramayana 2.21.21: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 21, Shloka 21

अयोध्याकाण्डे एकविंशः सर्गः · Lakṣmaṇa’s militant counsel and Rāma’s dharma

based persuasion of Kausalyā

Spoken by Kausalya to RamaSetting: Ayodhyā (palace)

Devanagari script

न चाधर्म्यं वच श्रुत्वा सपत्न्या मम भाषितम् ।

विहाय शोकसन्तप्तां गन्तुमर्हसि मामितः ॥२१॥

Recitation with translationValmiki Ramayana 2.21.21

Transliteration

na cādharmyaṃ vacaḥ śrutvā sapatnyā mama bhāṣitam |

vihāya śokasantaptāṃ gantum arhasi mām itaḥ ||21||

Translation

Lao

ເມື່ອເຈົ້າໄດ້ຟັງຖ້ອຍຄຳອັນອະທັມທີ່ເມຍຮ່ວມຂອງຂ້າ (ໄກເກຍີ) ເວົ້າແລ້ວ ກໍບໍ່ຄວນທີ່ເຈົ້າຈະປະລະຂ້າ ຜູ້ຖືກຄວາມໂສກເຜົາໄໝ້ ໃຫ້ຢູ່ນີ້ ແລ້ວຈາກສະຖານທີ່ນີ້ໄປ

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Word by Word

• na: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: Niṣedha-avyaya (निषेध) negation
• Role: Nipāta

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

• adharmyam: unrighteous
• Type: Adjective
• Root: adharmya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka, Dvitīyā, Ekavacana; agrees with vacaḥ
• Role: Viśeṣaṇa

• vacaḥ: words
• Type: Noun
• Root: vacas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka, Dvitīyā, Ekavacana (vacas is neuter a-stem-like in epic); object of śrutvā
• Role: Karma

• śrutvā: having heard
• Type: Verb
• Root: śru (धातु)
• Form: Ktvānta absolutive
• Role: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa

• sapatnyā: by the co-wife
• Type: Noun
• Root: sapatnī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Tṛtīyā, Ekavacana
• Role: Karta (कर्ता; in passive sense with bhāṣitam) / Karaṇa

• mama: my
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Ṣaṣṭhī, Ekavacana
• Role: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha

• bhāṣitam: spoken
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhāṣita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √bhāṣ धातु)
• Form: Kta PPP; Napumsaka, Dvitīyā, Ekavacana; agrees with vacaḥ; ‘spoken’
• Role: Viśeṣaṇa

• vihāya: leaving
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-hā (धातु)
• Form: Ktvānta absolutive; ‘having abandoned/left’
• Role: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa

• śokasantaptām: grief-stricken
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śoka + santapta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Dvitīyā, Ekavacana; agrees with mām; tatpuruṣa ‘grief-scorched’
• Role: Viśeṣaṇa
• Compound: Tatpurusha

• gantum: to go
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (धातु)
• Form: Tumunanta infinitive
• Role: Prayojana/Anukriyā

• arhasi: ought/should
• Type: Verb
• Root: arh (धातu)
• Form: Laṭ-lakāra, Madhyama-puruṣa, Ekavacana; parasmaipada; with na → ‘you should not’
• Role: Kriyā

• mām: me
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strī? (speaker) Dvitīyā, Ekavacana; pronoun
• Role: Karma

• itaḥ: from here
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: itaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: Apādāna-avyaya (अपादानार्थक) adverb ‘from here’
• Role: Apādāna (अपादान)

Sandhi Notes

• cādharmyaṃ = ca + adharmyam
• śokasantaptāṃ is a tatpuruṣa
• gantum arhasi (infinitive + finite verb)

Context

By heeding the unrighteous words of my co-wife (Kaikeyi) it does not behove you to leave me grief-stricken and go away from here.

The teaching

Adharma in speech can ignite household suffering; dharma requires balancing vow-keeping with compassionate responsibility.

Duties in tension

• Rāma’s obedience to father/royal promise vs duty of care toward grieving mother
• Truthfulness/keeping vows vs compassion and familial support

Ethical theme

Dharma-saṅkaṭa (conflict of duties)

How it resolves

Unresolved here (maternal plea intensifies the crisis)

For your practice

Invites reflection on speech-ethics and compassion: avoid vāk-hiṃsā; respond to others’ grief without abandoning righteousness.

Mood and themes

Rasa

Karuna (compassion), with Raudra (fury)

Mood

Scorched, pleading, indignant

Themes

• Dharma
• Satya
• Ethics
• Family Duty
• Mātṛ-śuśrūṣā (service to mother)
• Ayodhya Exile

Symbolism

Relationships

Cross references

Meter and recitation

Characters & Entities

• Kausalyā
• Rāma
• Kaikeyī

FAQs

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

Kausalyā appeals to dharma in the form of compassion and filial responsibility: a son should not abandon his mother in acute suffering, especially when the cause is rooted in adharma (unrighteous counsel).

What is the narrative situation?

Kausalyā, devastated by the impending exile, pleads with Rāma not to depart after he has heard Kaikeyī’s harsh demands.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

Kausalyā highlights the virtue of familial care and moral discernment—urging Rāma to recognize and resist adharma-driven speech.