Valmiki Ramayana 2.114.22 — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 114, Shloka 22

अयोध्याप्रवेशः

Bharata Enters Ayodhya and Perceives the City’s Desolation

Devanagari script

किं नु खल्वद्य गम्भीरो मूर्छितो न निशम्यते। यथापुरमयोध्यायां गीतवादित्रनिस्वनः।।2.114.22।।

Transliteration

kiṃ nu khalv adya gambhīro mūrchito na niśamyate | yathā puram ayodhyāyāṃ gītavāditranisvanaḥ || 2.114.22 ||

Translation

ഇന്ന് എന്തുകൊണ്ടാണ് അയോധ്യാപുരിയിൽ, മുമ്പുപോലെ ഗാനങ്ങളുടെയും വാദ്യങ്ങളുടെയും ഗാഢമായി ഉയരുന്ന മുഴക്കം കേൾക്കപ്പെടാത്തത്?

Word by Word

• kim: what? (why?)
• kim: Hetu-prashna (हेतु-प्रश्न/Interrogative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napुंसकलिङ्ग, Prathamā/Dvitīyā (contextual interrogative), Ekavacana; used idiomatically in question

• nu: indeed/then
• nu: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nu (अव्यय)
• Form: Nipāta (particle), interrogative/emphatic

• khalu: surely
• khalu: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: khalu (अव्यय)
• Form: Nipāta (particle), emphasis/assurance

• adya: today/now
• adya: Kāla (काल/Time adjunct)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: adya (अव्यय)
• Form: Kālavyaya (temporal adverb/काल-अव्यय)

• gambhīraḥ: deep
• gambhīraḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gambhīra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; qualifying gītavāditranisvanaḥ

• mūrchitaḥ: diffused/pervading
• mūrchitaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mūrchita (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; qualifying gītavāditranisvanaḥ

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (प्रतिषेध/Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: Pratiṣedha-nipāta (negation particle/प्रतिषेध)

• niśamyate: is heard
• niśamyate: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śam (धातु)
• Form: Laṭ-lakāra (Present/लट्), Prathama-puruṣa, Ekavacana; Ātmanepada; with prefix ni-; passive/impersonal sense ‘is heard/perceived’

• yathā: as/like
• yathā: Prakāra (प्रकार/Manner)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Upamā/Prakāra-avyaya (comparative/manner indeclinable)

• puram: formerly/in the city (before)
• puram: Prakāra (प्रकार/Adverbial)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pura (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napुंसकलिङ्ग, Dvitīyā, Ekavacana; used adverbially with yathā = ‘as before’

• ayodhyāyām: in Ayodhyā
• ayodhyāyām: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ayodhyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (Feminine/स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Saptamī vibhakti (Locative/सप्तमी), Ekavacana

• gīta-vāditra-nisvanaḥ: sound of songs and instruments
• gīta-vāditra-nisvanaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gīta (प्रातिपदिक) + vāditra (प्रातिपदिक) + nisvana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष) determinative: ‘gītānāṃ vāditrāṇāṃ ca nisvanaḥ’ (sound of songs and instruments); Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; subject of niśamyate

Context

How is it that in Ayodhya, the deep and all-pervasive songs and sounds of musical instruments of the former days are not heard now?

Characters & Entities

• Bharata
• Ayodhyā

FAQs

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

A ruler-in-training reads the moral health of society through its ordinary joys; dharma is not abstract—when truth and justice are wounded, communal celebration naturally fades.

What is the narrative situation?

Bharata notices the absence of Ayodhya’s customary music and festivity and asks his charioteer for the reason.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

Bharata’s compassion and vigilance: he is disturbed by the people’s sorrow and seeks the truth (satya) behind it.