Valmiki Ramayana 2.37.36: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 37, Shloka 36
अयोध्याकाण्डे सर्गः ३७ · चीरधारणं, सीतासंकल्पः, वसिष्ठोपदेशः
Bark-Robe Episode and Vasistha’s Admonition
Spoken by Vasistha to KaikeyiSetting: Ayodhyā (royal palace/assembly)
यानैश्च मुख्यैः परिचारकैश्च सुसंवृता गच्छतु राजपुत्री ।
वस्त्रैश्च सर्वैस्सहितैर्विधानै र्नेयं वृता ते वरसम्प्रदाने ॥३६॥
yānaiś ca mukhyaiḥ paricārakaiś ca susaṁvṛtā gacchatu rāja-putrī |
vastraiś ca sarvaiḥ sahitair vidhānair neyaṁ vṛtā te vara-sampradāne ||36||
ഉത്തമ വാഹനങ്ങളും പരിചാരകരും ചുറ്റിനിൽക്കേ, എല്ലാ വസ്ത്രങ്ങളോടും ആവശ്യസാമഗ്രികളോടും കൂടി രാജകുമാരി പോകട്ടെ. നീ വരങ്ങൾ അപേക്ഷിച്ചപ്പോൾ സീതയെ അതിൽ ഉൾപ്പെടുത്തിയിരുന്നില്ല.
Sandhi Notes
- Sandhi resolved: यानैश्च→यानैः च
- परिचारकैश्च→परिचारकैः च
- सुसंवृता (no split; su- upasarga + saṃvṛta PPP)
- वस्त्रैश्च→वस्त्रैः च
- सर्वैस्सहितैर्विधानैः→सर्वैः सहितैः विधानैः
- नेयं→न इयम्
- वरसम्प्रदाने (compound: वर-सम्प्रदाने)
Equipped with excellent chariots, attendants, garments, and all other needs let the princess (Sita) go. While seeking boons, you did not include Sita.
The teaching
Promises bind, yet their scope must be stated; dharma also requires fairness and non-malicious extension of a boon beyond what was asked.
Duties in tension
- King’s duty to honor boons/promises vs duty to protect family harmony
- Queen’s boon-right vs fairness toward daughter-in-law
- Sītā’s marital duty to accompany husband vs elders’ attempt to regulate her movement
- Ethical theme
- Satya (truthfulness) and nyāya (fair dealing)
- How it resolves
- Argument from scope/letter of the boon (Sītā not demanded)
For your practice
Reflection on satya and restraint in asking/using boons; practice of right speech and non-harm in exercising power.
Mood and themes
- Rasa
- Karuna (compassion), with Raudra (fury)
- Mood
- Admonitory, tense, procedural
Themes
- Dharma
- Justice
- Protection
- Court ethics
- Satya (truth of the stated boon)
The verse contrasts external arrangements (vehicles, garments) with the binding force of saṅkalpa/vāk (intention and speech), echoing the primacy of inner resolve over outer means.
Chāndogya-style emphasis on satya/vāk as a determining power (speech as truth-bearing), though not a direct quotation.
- Vashishtha and Kaikeyi
- Royal preceptor admonishing queen (firm)
- Kaikeyi and Sita
- Mother-in-law (by marriage) excluding daughter-in-law from boons (cold)
- Kaikeyi and Dasharatha
- Wife asserting boon-right over king (dominating)
- Sita and Rama
- Wife accompanying husband (implied) (devoted)
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.18–2.20 (boons and their binding force); Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.27–2.30 (Daśaratha bound by promise)
Mahābhārata: satya-vrata and boon-binding episodes (e.g., Śāntanu–Bhīṣma vow motif, thematic)
Ayodhyākāṇḍa: repeated refrain that Kaikeyī asked for Rāma’s exile and Bharata’s consecration, not Sītā’s banishment
Anuṣṭup (śloka)
Commanding
Madhyama-gati, niṣāda-śadja emphasis for admonition
FAQs
Dharma requires truthful limits: one must not expand a harsh command beyond what was actually promised or asked, especially when it harms an innocent.
Vasiṣṭha insists Sītā should be allowed proper comfort and protection because Kaikeyī’s boon concerned only Rāma.
Vasiṣṭha’s commitment to fairness and protective duty toward the royal household.
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