Valmiki Ramayana 2.41.7: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 41, Shloka 7

अयोध्यायाः शोकप्रकम्पः

Ayodhya’s Tremor of Grief and Omens

Setting: Ayodhyā inner palace (antaƲ5pura)Places named: Ayodhyā

Devanagari script

इति सर्वा महिष्यस्ता विवत्सा इव धेनवः ।

रुरुदुश्चैव दुःखार्ताः सस्वरं च विचुक्रुशुः ॥७॥

Recitation with translationValmiki Ramayana 2.41.7

Transliteration

iti sarvā mahiṣyas tā vivatsā iva dhenavaḥ |

ruruduś caiva duḥkhārtāḥ sasvaraṃ ca vicukruśuḥ ||7||

Translation

ດັ່ງນັ້ນ ພະມະເຫສີທັງປວງ ຜູ້ຖືກຄວາມໂສກທຸກຂ໌ບີບຄັ້ນ ຈຶ່ງຮ້ອງໄຫ້ ແລະຄຳຄວນດັງກ້ອງ—ດຸດດັ່ງແມ່ງົວທີ່ຂາດລູກນ້ອຍ។

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Word by Word

• iti: thus
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: Quotative/closing particle (इति)
• Role: Vakyopanyasa (वाक्योपन्यास)

• sarvāḥ: all
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural; qualifying 'mahiṣyaḥ'
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)

• mahiṣyaḥ: queens
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahiṣī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)

• tāḥ: those
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun, Feminine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural; apposition to 'mahiṣyaḥ'
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)

• vivatsāḥ: bereft of calves
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi-vatsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural; 'without calves' qualifying implied 'dhenavaḥ' in simile
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)

• iva: like
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iva (अव्यय)
• Form: Simile particle (उपमा-अव्यय)
• Role: Upama (उपमा)

• dhenavaḥ: cows
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhenu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural; standard of comparison
• Role: Upamana (उपमान)

• ruruduḥ: wept
• Type: Verb
• Root: rud (धातु)
• Form: Verb, Perfect/लिट्, Parasmaipada, 3rd person, Plural
• Role: Kriya (क्रिया)

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

• eva: indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Emphatic particle (अवधारण-निपात)
• Role: Avadharana (अवधारण)

• duḥkhārtāḥ: tormented by grief
• Type: Adjective
• Root: duḥkha + ārta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural; compound: duḥkha-ārta = afflicted by sorrow; qualifying 'mahiṣyaḥ'
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Compound: Tatpurusha

• sasvaram: loudly
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sa + svara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyayībhāva used adverbially: sa-svaram = with voice/loudly
• Role: Kriya-visheshana (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Compound: Avyayibhava

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

• vicukruśuḥ: cried out
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi + kruś (धातु)
• Form: Verb, Perfect/लिट्, Parasmaipada, 3rd person, Plural
• Role: Kriya (क्रिया)

Sandhi Notes

• ruruduścaiva = ruruduḥ + ca + eva

Context

So wept aloud the anguished wives of the king like cows separated from their calves.

The teaching

Even the most disciplined households can be overwhelmed when dharma-driven separation strikes; compassion for mourners is itself dharma.

Ethical theme

Karuƴ7ā/saƲ5bhāva (compassionate response)

For your practice

Cultivates empathy (karuƴ7ā) and remembrance of impermanence; suitable for reflective recitation when softening the heart.

Mood and themes

Rasa

Karuna (compassion)

Mood

Wailing, maternal, uncontrolled

Themes

• Itihāsa
• Śoka (grief)
• Karunā (pathos)
• Dharma (social disruption)

Symbolism

Cross references

Meter and recitation

Characters & Entities

• the queens (mahiṣyaḥ)

FAQs

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

It highlights how adharma-like outcomes (the unjust-feeling exile of a righteous heir) ripple through society, producing collective grief and destabilizing the moral-emotional order of the palace.

What is the narrative situation?

After the queens’ lamenting questions about Rāma, the narrator describes their loud crying and weeping.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

Not a single virtue, but the depth of familial attachment and the moral shock felt by the palace at Rāma’s departure.