Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 51, Shloka 9

अयोध्याकाण्डे एकपञ्चाशः सर्गः — Guha’s Vigil and Lakṣmaṇa’s Lament

Night on the riverbank

Devanagari script

कथं दशरथौ भूमौ शयाने सह सीतया।शक्या निद्रा मया लब्धुं जीवितं वा सुखानि वा।।।।

Transliteration

kathaṁ dāśarathau bhūmau śayāne saha sītayā |

śakyā nidrā mayā labdhuṁ jīvitaṁ vā sukhāni vā ||

Translation

ဒသရထ၏သားတော် ရာမသည် စီတာနှင့်အတူ မြေပြင်ပေါ်၌ အိပ်စက်နေရသော်၊ ကျွန်ုပ်သည် မည်သို့အိပ်ပျော်နိုင်မည်နည်း—အသက်ရှင်ခြင်းကိုပင် သို့မဟုတ် ပျော်ရွှင်မှုတို့ကိုပင် ရယူထိုက်သည်ဟု မည်သို့ခံယူနိုင်မည်နည်း။

Word by Word

• कथम्: how
• कथम्: Prashna (प्रश्न)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथम् (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (interrogative adverb: how)

• दाशरथौ: when the son of Dasharatha (Rama)
• दाशरथौ: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दाशरथि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), एकवचन (Singular); ‘दाशरथौ’ = दाशरथौ (रामे) इति स्थान/अवस्थावाचक

• भूमौ: on the ground
• भूमौ: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूमि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), एकवचन (Singular)

• शयाने: lying (asleep)
• शयाने: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शी (धातु) + शानच् (कृदन्त)
• Form: शानच्-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमानकाले आत्मनेपदी कृदन्त (present middle participle: lying/sleeping), पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘दाशरथौ’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• सह: with
• सह: Sahakari (सहकारी)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सह (अव्यय)
• Form: सहकारार्थक-अव्यय (preposition-like: with)

• सीतया: with Sita
• सीतया: Sahakari (सहकारी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सीता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), एकवचन (Singular)

• शक्या: possible
• शक्या: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शक्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन; ‘निद्रा’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम् (possible/feasible)

• निद्रा: sleep
• निद्रा: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निद्रा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• मया: by me / for me
• मया: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: त्रिलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), एकवचन

• लब्धुम्: to obtain
• लब्धुम्: Prayojana (प्रयोजन)
• Type: Verb
• Root: लभ् (धातु)
• Form: तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय-रूप (infinitive: to obtain)

• जीवितम्: life
• जीवितम्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जीवित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; अत्र ‘शक्या (अस्ति)’ इत्यर्थे प्रथमा

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-अव्यय (disjunctive particle: or)

• सुखानि: pleasures
• सुखानि: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; अत्र ‘शक्या (अस्ति)’ इत्यर्थे प्रथमा

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-अव्यय (or)

Context

I along with my kinsmen, bow in hand, will protect my dear friend, Rama with Sita from every side.

Characters & Entities

• Lakshmana
• Rama (Dasarathi)
• Sita
• Dasaratha

FAQs

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

Dharma as empathetic solidarity: Lakshmana refuses personal comfort while Rama endures hardship, treating shared suffering as a moral obligation of love and duty.

What is the narrative situation?

During exile, Rama and Sita rest on the ground; Lakshmana, distressed, declares he cannot sleep or enjoy comfort while they suffer.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

Self-denial and unwavering fraternal devotion—Lakshmana’s readiness to forgo comfort out of duty and love.