Valmiki Ramayana 2.113.17: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 113, Shloka 17

पादुकाप्रदानं भरतस्य निवृत्तिश्च

The Sandals Bestowed; Bharata’s Return Toward Ayodhya

Spoken by Bharadvaja to BharataSetting: Bharadvāja-āśrama (Prayāga region)Before departure toward Ayodhyā; reflection on Daśaratha’s death

Devanagari script

अमृत स्समहाबाहुः पिता दशरथस्तव ।

यस्य त्वमीदृशः पुत्रो धर्मज्ञो धर्मवत्सलः ॥१७॥

Recitation with translationValmiki Ramayana 2.113.17

Transliteration

amṛtaḥ sa mahābāhuḥ pitā daśarathas tava |

yasya tvam īdṛśaḥ putro dharmajño dharmavatsalaḥ ||17||

Translation

Ayahandamu Daśaratha yang berlengan perkasa itu sesungguhnya tidaklah benar-benar wafat, kerana baginda memiliki putera sepertimu—yang mengetahui Dharma dan mencintai Dharma.

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Word by Word

• amṛtaḥ: not dead/immortal
• Type: Adjective
• Root: amṛta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); predicate adjective
• Role: Pradhāna-viśeṣaṇa (प्रधानविशेषण)

• saḥ: he
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma (सर्वनाम), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)

• mahābāhuḥ: mighty-armed
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā + bāhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Karmadhāraya (कर्मधारय: ‘great-armed’), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Compound: Karmadharaya

• pitā: father
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)

• daśarathaḥ: Daśaratha
• Type: Noun
• Root: daśaratha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); apposition to pitā
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)

• tava: your
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun (युष्मद्), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)

• yasya: of whom
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Relative pronoun (यद्), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)

• tvam: you
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun (युष्मद्), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)

• īdṛśaḥ: such (of this kind)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: īdṛśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); adjective qualifying tvam/putraḥ
• Role: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)

• putraḥ: son
• Type: Noun
• Root: putra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); in apposition to tvam
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)

• dharmajñaḥ: knower of righteousness
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dharma + jña (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (उपपद-तत्पुरुष: ‘knower of dharma’), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Compound: Tatpurusha

• dharmavatsalaḥ: devoted to duty
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dharma + vatsala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘affectionate to dharma’), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Compound: Tatpurusha

Sandhi Notes

• amṛta ssamahābāhuḥ → amṛtaḥ + sa + mahābāhuḥ
• daśarathastava → daśarathaḥ + tava

Context

With you as his son, endowed with qualities of righteousness and devotion to duty, your mighty-armed father Dasaratha is not dead. (He lives through you).

The teaching

A ruler’s true continuity is dharma embodied in successors; virtue grants a kind of ‘amṛtatva’ through legacy and inner truth.

Ethical theme

Pitṛ-dharma / kula-dharma

For your practice

Transforms grief into resolve: uphold dharma so that ancestors are honored and the mind becomes steady.

Mood and themes

Rasa

Karuna (compassion), with Shanta (peace)

Mood

Consoling, grave, uplifting

Themes

• Dharma
• Satya
• Pitr̥-smṛti (living legacy of the father)
• Ethics
• Itihasa

Symbolism

Relationships

Cross references

Meter and recitation

Characters & Entities

• Bharadvāja
• Bharata
• Daśaratha

FAQs

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

A righteous heir preserves a parent’s moral life and reputation; dharma becomes a form of continuity beyond death.

What is the narrative situation?

Bharadvāja consoles and praises Bharata, asserting that Daśaratha lives on through Bharata’s dharmic conduct.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

Dharma-jñāna (discernment of right) and dharma-vātsalya (deep devotion to duty).