Valmiki Ramayana 2.64.21: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 64, Shloka 21
शब्दवेध्य-अनर्थः, ऋषिशापः, दशरथस्य प्राणत्यागः
The Sound-Target Tragedy, the Sage’s Curse, and Dasaratha’s Death
Spoken by King DaśarathaSetting: Forest hermitage setting where the sage hears the confession
स तच्च्रुत्वा वचः क्रूरं मयोक्तमघशंसिना ।
नाशकत्तीव्रमायासमकर्तुं भगवानृषिः ॥२१॥
sa tac chrutvā vacaḥ krūraṃ mayoktam aghaśaṃsinā |
nāśakat tīvram āyāsam akartuṃ bhagavān ṛṣiḥ ||21||
Mendengar kata-kata yang keras itu, yang kuucapkan sebagai pengakuan dosa, sang rsi yang mulia tidak mampu menahan gelora kesedihan yang amat perit.
Sandhi Notes
- तच्छ्रुत्वा = तत् + श्रुत्वा
- मयोक्तम् = मया + उक्तम्
- अघशंसिना = अघ + शंसिन् (tatpuruṣa)
- नाशकत् = न + अशकत्
- तीव्रमायासम् = तीव्रम् + आयासम्
- भगवानृषिः = भगवान् + ऋषिः
The venerable sage heard my cruel words about the sinful act and was not able to seriously react. (He was stunned).
The teaching
Truthful confession may be necessary, yet it can ignite the just anguish of the wronged; grief can become the instrument of dharma's retribution.
Duties in tension
- Sage's compassion/forgiveness vs. righteous anger and justice for slain son
- Ascetic equanimity vs. parental grief
- Ethical theme
- Retributive justice; power and peril of ṛṣi-vāk (sage's speech)
- How it resolves
- Emotional overwhelm leading toward punitive speech-act (curse)
For your practice
Warns practitioners that tapas and learning do not automatically immunize one from grief; encourages cultivating steadiness and compassion alongside justice.
Mood and themes
- Rasa
- Karuna (compassion), with Raudra (fury)
- Mood
- Piercing, unbearable, wrath-tinged grief
Themes
- Dharma
- Ethics
- Grief
- Consequences
- Satya
Even the tapasvin's mind is shaken by prārabdha-like shock; illustrates the power of saṃskāra (parental attachment) over composure.
The fragility of embodied mind under sorrow contrasts with the Upaniṣadic ideal of śānta, jitendriya; here the narrative shows the human cost that precedes higher equanimity.
Mahābhārata: sages pronouncing curses from grief/anger (e.g., ākuntala-related curses; various rṣi-śāpa motifs); Rāmacaritamānasa: the blind father's grief leading to Daśaratha's śāpa
Vedic/Itihāsa motif: satya-vāk (truthful speech) that is 'cruel' yet dharmic
Ayodhyākāŋa 2.64: immediate prelude to the curse that mirrors Daśaratha's later lament for Rāma
Anuṣṭubh
Grieving
Tīvra (heightened, strained)
FAQs
Dharma recognizes the real human cost of wrongdoing: truth must be spoken, but it also brings rightful grief and consequence.
Daśaratha’s confession reaches the sage, who is overwhelmed and momentarily unable to contain his distress.
Moral seriousness: the sage’s reaction shows that harm to an innocent is not a light matter, even if accidental.
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