Valmiki Ramayana 2.71.26: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 71, Shloka 26
भरतस्य अयोध्याप्रत्यागमनम् · Bharata’s Return Journey and the Distant Sight of Ayodhya
Spoken by Rama to SumantraSetting: Ayodhyā gardens and their footpathsPlaces named: Ayodhyā, udyānāniDeparting; immediate visual of decay/emptiness
तान्येतान्यद्य पश्यामि निरानन्दानि सर्वशः ॥२६॥
स्रस्तपर्णैरनुपथं विक्रोशद्भिरिव द्रुमैः ।
tāny etāny adya paśyāmi nirānandāni sarvaśaḥ ||26||
srasta-parṇair anupathaṃ vikrośadbhir iva drumaiḥ |
എന്നാൽ ഇപ്പോൾ ഞാൻ അതേ ഉദ്യാനങ്ങളെ എല്ലാടവും ആനന്ദരഹിതമായി കാണുന്നു—പാതകളിൽ വീണ ഇലകൾ പടർന്നിരിക്കുന്നു; വൃക്ഷങ്ങൾ പോലും വിലപിക്കുന്നതുപോലെ തോന്നുന്നു.
Sandhi Notes
- तान्येतान्यद्य = तानि + एतानि + अद्य (इ/अ सन्धि: इ + ए → ये; इ + अ → य)
- स्रस्तपर्णैरनुपथं = स्रस्तपर्णैः + अनुपथम् (ः + अ → र्)
Now the trees appear cheerless, the paths are full of dry leaves fallen all over. It appears as if the trees are crying.
The teaching
Grief can make even beautiful places appear barren; cultivate steadiness so perception is not wholly ruled by sorrow.
- Ethical theme
- Manas-śikṣā / emotional discipline
For your practice
Aids bhāvanā for compassion and detachment; useful for reflecting on how the mind colors the world, encouraging japa with equanimity.
Mood and themes
- Rasa
- Karuna (compassion), with Adbhuta (wonder)
- Mood
- Bleak, wind-stripped, wailing
Themes
- Dharma
- Satya
- Itihasa
- Ethics
- Grief
- Nature imagery
Guṇa-pariṇāma in experience: the same prakṛti appears sattvic (delightful) or tamasic (cheerless) depending on the observer’s inner state.
Īśā-like sense of pervading presence/absence: when the cherished dharmic presence withdraws, the world seems emptied though it remains.
- Rama and Sumantra
- Shared witnessing of desolation (grieving)
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.71.23 (city like wilderness); Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.71.27 (silence of birds); Mahābhārata vana-parvan laments where nature mirrors grief (general parallel)
Kāvya trope: nature as participant (udvega in latā/druma)
Ayodhyākāṇḍa: repeated personification of Ayodhyā and its environs in grief
Anuṣṭup (śloka)
Grieving, pictorial
Slow vilambita with audible caesura; emphasize ‘nirānandāni’ and ‘vikrośadbhiḥ’
FAQs
When righteous order is shaken, the environment of human life—its beauty, care, and cultivation—also declines. The verse links ethical rupture to visible neglect and sorrow.
Rama describes the gardens as neglected and mournful, with leaf-strewn paths and ‘crying’ trees.
Rama’s inward steadiness: he observes grief without becoming cruel or indifferent, holding to truth while absorbing pain.
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