Valmiki Ramayana 2.19.6: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 19, Shloka 6
एकोनविंशः सर्गः (Sarga 19): Rāma’s Unshaken Acceptance of Exile and Kaikeyī’s Urgency
Spoken by Rama to KausalyaSetting: Ayodhyā palace (private conversation context)Places named: Ayodhyā
अलीकं मानसं त्वेकं हृदयं दहतीव मे ।
स्वयं यन्नाह मां राजा भरतस्याभिषेचनम् ॥६॥
alīkaṃ mānasaṃ tv ekaṃ hṛdayaṃ dahatīva me |
svayaṃ yan nāha māṃ rājā bharatasyābhiṣecanam ||6||
Hanya satu perkara yang menyakitkan dan seakan membakar hatiku: bahawa raja sendiri tidak memberitahuku secara langsung tentang penobatan Bharata.
Sandhi Notes
- त्वेकम् = तु + एकम्
- दहतीव = दहति + इव
- यन्नाह = यत् + न + आह
- भरतस्याभिषेचनम् = भरतस्य + अभिषेचनम्
One thing which hurts me is that the king himself did not tell me about Bharata'sconsecration. That alone is burning my heart.
The teaching
Even righteous hearts feel the sting of withheld truth; dharma is to voice it without breaking loyalty.
Duties in tension
- Filial trust and openness vs royal secrecy/political maneuvering
- Personal hurt vs duty to remain obedient
- Ethical theme
- Family ethics within rāja-dharma
- How it resolves
- Acknowledgment of pain without disobedience
For your practice
Encourages truthful self-observation and restraint; useful for contemplative practice on transforming hurt into steadiness.
Mood and themes
- Rasa
- Karuna (compassion), with Shanta (peace)
- Mood
- Wounded, smoldering, confiding
Themes
- Dharma
- Satya
- Ethics
- Itihasa
Tapas as inner heat: emotional ‘daha’ transmuted into disciplined acceptance rather than reaction.
Fire imagery as inner experience (antar-agni) recalling Upaniṣadic metaphors of inner heat/knowledge, though here as grief.
- Rama and Dasharatha
- Son’s longing for direct paternal communication (hurt affection). King withholding direct announcement from heir (strained uncertainty)
- Rama and Bharata
- Elder brother’s goodwill toward younger brother (supportive concern)
Mahābhārata (Udyoga/Śānti): motifs of unspoken counsel causing rupture in royal houses
Agni imagery in Vedic/Upaniṣadic literature as inner burning
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.19 (sequence of Rama learning the reversal and reacting inwardly)
Anuṣṭup (śloka)
Grieving
Lower register, gentle kampita on ‘dahati’
FAQs
Dharma includes satya and straightforwardness in relationships: Rāma’s pain arises from lack of direct, truthful communication—yet he remains committed to duty.
Rāma confides to his mother that the only troubling point is not the decision itself, but that it was not communicated to him openly by the king.
Integrity and emotional honesty: Rāma admits his hurt without turning it into resentment or rebellion.
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