Valmiki Ramayana 2.32.18-20: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 32, Shlokas 18-20
द्वात्रिंशस्सर्गः · Gifts to Suyajna and the Brahmins; Trijata’s Petition and Rama’s Charity
Spoken by Rama to Lakṣmaṇa
ये चेमे कठकालापा बहवो दण्डमाणवाः ॥१८॥
नित्यस्वाध्यायशीलत्वान्नान्यत्कुर्वन्ति किञ्चन ।
अलसा स्वादुकामाश्च महतां चापि सम्मताः ॥१९॥
तेषामशीतियानानि रत्नपूर्णानि दापय ।
शालिवाहसहस्रं च द्वे शते भद्रकां स्तथा ॥२०॥
व्यञ्जनार्थं च सौमित्रे गोसहस्रमुपाकुरु ।
ye ceme kaṭhakālāpā bahavo daṇḍamāṇavāḥ ||18||
nityasvādhyāyaśīlatvān nānyat kurvanti kiṃcana |
alasāḥ svādukāmāś ca mahatāṃ cāpi sammatāḥ ||19||
teṣām aśītiyānāni ratnapūrṇāni dāpaya |
śālivāhasahasraṃ ca dve śate bhadrakāṃs tathā ||20||
vyañjanārthaṃ ca saumitre gosahasram upākuru |
ഇവിടെ ഉള്ള ഈ അനേകം ദണ്ഡധാരികളായ ബ്രഹ്മചാരികൾ—കാഠകയും കലാപയും എന്ന പരമ്പരകളിൽ നിപുണർ—നിത്യസ്വാധ്യായനിഷ്ഠരായതിനാൽ മറ്റൊന്നും ചെയ്യുന്നില്ല. മറ്റു കാര്യങ്ങളിൽ അലസരായാലും രുചികരഭോജനപ്രിയരായാലും, മഹന്മാരും അവരെ ആദരിക്കുന്നു. അവരുടെ വേണ്ടി രത്നങ്ങൾ നിറഞ്ഞ എൺപത് വാഹനങ്ങൾ (വണ്ടികൾ) നൽകുക; ധാന്യം ചുമക്കാൻ യോഗ്യമായ ആയിരം ശാലിവാഹ കാളകളും, കൂടാതെ ഇരുനൂറ് ഭദ്രക കാളകളും. ഹേ സൗമിത്രേ, പാചകസാമഗ്ര്യാർത്ഥം ആയിരം പശുക്കളെയും ഒരുക്കുക.
Sandhi Notes
- चेमे = च + इमे
- नित्यस्वाध्यायशीलत्वान्न = नित्यस्वाध्यायशीलत्वात् + न
- नान्यत्कुर्वन्ति = न + अन्यत् + कुर्वन्ति
- स्वादुकामाश्च = स्वादुकामाः + च
- महतां चापि = महताम् + च + अपि
- तेषामशीतियानानि = तेषाम् + अशीतियानानि
- शालिवाहसहस्रं च = शालिवाहसहस्रम् + च
- व्यञ्जनार्थं च = व्यञ्जनार्थम् + च
- गोसहस्रमुपाकुरु = गोसहस्रम् + उपाकुरु
O Lakshmana! many brahmacharis with a staff (as a mark of religious authority) well-versed in Katha and Kalapa portions of the Vedas engaged daily in the study of the Vedas and nothing else. Not active otherwise, they are fond of delicious food and are respected even by great people. Give them eighty carts filled with gems, a thousand bulls capable of carrying paddy, and two hundred oxen capable of ploughing land and a thousand cows for preparing food (with milk products).
The teaching
Even when students are materially dependent, society must sustain svādhyāya; supporting Vedic study is a dharmic investment that benefits all.
Duties in tension
- Ideal of austere brahmacarya vs social reality of dependence and comfort
- Resource allocation to scholars vs other claimants in a time of transition
- Ethical theme
- Āśrama-dharma / śruti-saṃrakṣaṇa (preservation of Veda)
- How it resolves
- Prioritization_of_svādhyāya_support_as_public_good
For your practice
Supports svādhyāya culture; encourages offering resources to learning and disciplined practice as a form of worship of śruti.
Mood and themes
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace), with Adbhuta (wonder)
- Mood
- Methodical, bountiful, institutional
Themes
- Dharma
- Maryada
- Itihasa
- Ethics
- Dāna (charity)
- Vedic study
- Social duty
brahmacarya-āśrama support; svādhyāya as tapas; social patronage of śruti; tension between ascetic ideal and human appetite (alasa, svādu-kāma) acknowledged yet honored
Svādhyāya as inner yajña; supporting students sustains the living Veda—knowledge as the true ‘wealth’ behind material gifts.
Svādhyāya-pravacana emphasis (later echoed in Taittirīya): study and teaching as sacred duty; here, society materially underwrites that duty.
Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana-parvan: gifts to brahmacārins and svādhyāya-priests; praise of supporting Vedic study; Smṛti traditions: svādhyāya as nitya-karma; patronage of students
Kāṭhaka and Kālāpa śākhās (Vedic recensional culture); Daṇḍa-māṇava as emblem of brahmacarya discipline
Ayodhyākāṇḍa: continued catalog of beneficiaries in 2.32; theme of settling dharmic obligations before major life transition
Anuṣṭup (śloka)
Narrative
Brisk, enumerative cadence; clear pauses at quantities (aśīti, sahasram, dve śate)
FAQs
Supporting sacred learning: society’s duty is to materially sustain those committed to Vedic study, so that spiritual education and truth-transmission continue uninterrupted.
Rāma instructs Lakṣmaṇa to distribute large-scale gifts to groups of Vedic students identified by their recensional affiliations and lifestyle.
Responsibility and generosity: Rāma ensures even large groups dependent on religious learning are provided for in an organized, abundant manner.
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