Valmiki Ramayana 2.59.32: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 59, Shloka 32
एकोनषष्ठितमः सर्गः (Sarga 59): सुमन्त्रवाक्यं, अयोध्याविषादः, दाशरथिशोकसागरः
Setting: Ayodhyā (palace)
स तेन राजा दुःखेन भृशमर्पितचेतनः ।
अवगाढस्सुदुष्पारं शोकसागरमब्रवीत् ॥३२॥
sa tena rājā duḥkhena bhṛśam arpitacetanaḥ |
avagāḍhaḥ suduṣpāraṃ śokasāgaram abravīt ||32||
Maka raja itu, dengan batin yang amat ditindih dukacita, seakan tenggelam ke dalam lautan duka yang sukar diseberangi, lalu bersuara.
Sandhi Notes
- अवगाढस्सुदुष्पारम् = अवगाढः + सुदुष्पारम्
- शोकसागरमब्रवीत् = शोकसागरम् + अब्रवीत्
The king whose mind was extremely enfeebled due to grief and who was immersed ina sea of tears which he was unable to cross continued:
The teaching
Unchecked śśokaŝ can become an inner ocean that is śsuduṣpāraŝ; the mind needs supports (dharma, counsel, inner refuge) to avoid drowning in emotion.
- Ethical theme
- Emotional governance / resilience
For your practice
A meditation image for observing grief as a wave-state of mind; supports practices of witnessing (sākṣitva) and prayer for steadiness.
Mood and themes
- Rasa
- Karuna (compassion), with Shanta (peace)
- Mood
- Overwhelmed, drowning, spent
Themes
- Itihasa
- Dharma
- Psychology of grief
- Narration
- Satya (truthful depiction of suffering)
The śoceanŝ metaphor aligns with saṃsāra-sāgara imagery; liberation is framed as ścrossingŝ through knowledge and dispassion.
Saṃsāra as a flood/ocean to be crossed is a recurring Upaniṣadic and later Vedāntic image; here grief itself becomes that ocean.
- Dasharatha and Grief
- Inner adversary/overwhelming emotion (overpowered)
Vālmīki RāmāyaŇa 2.59.29-31 (lead-up lament); Vālmīki RāmāyaŇa 2.66 (death sequence culmination)
Bhagavad Gītā 2.62-2.63 (mind overwhelmed by attachment leading to downfall) as thematic parallel; Later bhakti/vedānta usage of saṃsāra-sāgara metaphor
AyodhyākāŇḍa: repeated ocean metaphors for sorrow among Ayodhyāśs people
Anuṣṭup
Solemn
Heavy, slow, with long holds on śśoka-sāgaramŝ
FAQs
It presents satya in storytelling: dharma literature does not hide the cost of duty and separation; it truthfully depicts grief to deepen moral understanding and compassion.
The narrator describes Daśaratha’s mental collapse and immersion in grief, introducing that he continues speaking in that state.
Not a virtue of action but a narrative emphasis on human truth: the king’s vulnerability illustrates the emotional stakes surrounding dharma-bound decisions.
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