Shloka 15

कैकेयीवरप्रार्थना

Kaikeyi Demands the Two Boons

Devanagari script

चन्द्रादित्यौ नभश्चैव ग्रहा रात्र्यहनी दिशः।जगच्च पृथिवी चेयं सगन्धर्वा सराक्षसा।।2.11.14।।निशाचराणि भूतानि गृहेषु गृहदेवता।यानि चान्यानि भूतानि जानीयुर्भाषितं तव।।2.11.15।।

Transliteration

candrādityau nabhaś caiva grahā rātryahanī diśaḥ | jagac ca pṛthivī ceyaṃ sa-gandharvā sa-rākṣasāḥ || (2.11.14) niśācarāṇi bhūtāni gṛheṣu gṛhadevatāḥ | yāni cānyāni bhūtāni jānīyur bhāṣitaṃ tava || 2.11.15 ||

Translation

ചന്ദ്രനും സൂര്യനും, ആകാശവും, ഗ്രഹങ്ങളും, രാത്രിയും പകലും, ദിക്കുകളും, ലോകവും ഈ ഭൂമിയും—ഗന്ധർവരും രാക്ഷസരും സഹിതം—കൂടാതെ നിശാചരഭൂതങ്ങൾ, ഗൃഹദേവതകൾ, മറ്റെല്ലാ ജീവഭൂതങ്ങളും നിന്റെ ഉച്ചരിച്ച പ്രതിജ്ഞ അറിയട്ടെ.

Word by Word

• निशाचराणि: night-roamers
• निशाचराणि: Karta (कर्ता/Subject; one of coordinated subjects)
• Type: Noun
• Root: niśā-cara (प्रातिपदिक; निशा + चर)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• भूतानि: beings
• भूतानि: Karta (कर्ता/Subject; apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• गृहेषु: in houses
• गृहेषु: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gṛha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• गृहदेवताः: household deities
• गृहदेवताः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject; coordinated)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gṛha-devatā (प्रातिपदिक; गृह + देवता)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• यानि: which (beings)
• यानि: Karta (कर्ता/Subject; coordinated)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; सम्बन्ध-प्रत्यय (relative pronoun)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• अन्यानि: other
• अन्यानि: Karta (कर्ता/Subject; qualifying)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण (of भूतानि)

• भूतानि: beings
• भूतानि: Karta (कर्ता/Subject; coordinated)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• जानीयुः: may know / should know
• जानीयुः: Kriyā (क्रिया/Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √ज्ञा (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथम-पुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• भाषितम्: (your) spoken words
• भाषितम्: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: √भाष् (धातु) + क्त (कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past participle used as noun); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• तव: your
• तव: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Context

Let the Moon and the Sun, the sky, the planets, night and day, the (ten) quarters the world, gandharvas, rakshasas, this earth, the nocturnal spirits all beings, family deities of every house and all other beings listen to your words of promise.

Characters & Entities

• Kaikeyī
• Daśaratha
• Candra (Moon)
• Pṛthivī (Earth)
• Gandharvas
• Rākṣasas
• niśācarāḥ (night-rangers)

FAQs

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

As in the preceding transmission, the verse underscores the sanctity of a vow: dharma treats truth as something upheld before the entire moral universe.

What is the narrative situation?

This is a repeated/overlapping witness-invocation in the Southern Recension stream, reinforcing the binding nature of Daśaratha’s pledge.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

Reliability in speech (satya-vākya): once witnesses are invoked, deviation becomes a grave ethical failure.