Valmiki Ramayana 2.64.60: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 64, Shloka 60

शब्दवेध्य-अनर्थः, ऋषिशापः, दशरथस्य प्राणत्यागः

The Sound-Target Tragedy, the Sage’s Curse, and Dasaratha’s Death

Spoken by King DaśarathaSetting: Ayodhyā (royal quarters)

Devanagari script

तस्यायं कर्मणो देवि विपाकस्समुपस्थितः ।

अपथ्यैस्सहम्भुक्ते व्याधिरन्नरसे यथा ॥६०॥

Recitation with translationValmiki Ramayana 2.64.60

Transliteration

tasyāyaṁ karmaṇo devi vipākaḥ samupasthitaḥ |

apathyaiḥ saha bhukte vyādhir anna-rase yathā ||60||

Translation

O królowo, dojrzała konsekwencja tego czynu spadła teraz na mnie, jak choroba, która pojawia się, gdy spożywa się to, co jest szkodliwe.

Ask anything about this verse...Ask

Word by Word

• tasya: of that (deed/person)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular
• Role: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (षष्ठी सम्बन्ध)

• ayam: this
• Type: Adjective
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular; demonstrative qualifying 'vipākaḥ'
• Role: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)

• karmaṇaḥ: of the action/deed
• Type: Noun
• Root: karman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Singular
• Role: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (षष्ठी सम्बन्ध)

• devi: O देवी
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Vocative, Singular
• Role: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)

• vipākaḥ: result, consequence
• Type: Noun
• Root: vipāka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular; subject
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)

• samupasthitaḥ: has befallen, has come upon
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-upa√sthā (धातु) + upasthita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: PPP (क्त), Masculine, Nominative, Singular; predicative: 'has arrived/has befallen'
• Role: Kriyā (क्रिया)

• apathyaiḥ: with unwholesome things
• Type: Noun
• Root: apathya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Plural; with 'saha'
• Role: Sahakāraka (सहकारक)

• saha: together with
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: saha (अव्यय)
• Form: Prepositional indeclinable (सह-योगे)
• Role: Sahakāraka (सहकारक)

• bhukte: when (it is) eaten/partaken
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhuj (धातु)
• Form: Locative absolute participial form: past passive participle (क्त) 'bhukta' used in Locative Singular Neuter/Masculine as 'bhukte (sati)' = 'when eaten/when partaken'
• Role: Kāla/Condition (काल/अवस्था)

• vyādhiḥ: disease
• Type: Noun
• Root: vyādhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular; subject in simile clause
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)

• anna-rase: in food and drink
• Type: Noun
• Root: anna-rasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular; dvandva: anna (food) + rasa (drink/juice)
• Role: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Compound: Dvandva

• yathā: as, like
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Comparative indeclinable (उपमा-अव्यय)
• Role: Upamāna-dyotaka (उपमान-द्योतक)

Sandhi Notes

• tasyāyaṃ = tasya + ayam
• vipākassamupasthitaḥ = vipākaḥ + samupasthitaḥ
• apathyaissaha(m)bhukte = apathyaiḥ + saha + bhukte
• annarase = anna-rase

Context

Just as a man eating forbidden food and drink falls sick, so have I fallen prey to grief,because of my sin, O Devi!

The teaching

Unwholesome action, once +ceaten+c, ripens as suffering; a ruler+cs choices return as inevitable vipāka.

Duties in tension

• Rājadharma (keeping the king+cs promise and upholding royal word)
• Pitṛdharma (protecting and retaining the son)
• Satya-dharma (truthfulness to boonsƠvows)

Ethical theme

KarmaƠretributive justice

How it resolves

Tragic acceptance of karmic consequence

For your practice

Daily reflection on karmic causality and restraint in speechƠaction; supports prāyaścitta-bhāva (repentant mindfulness).

Mood and themes

Rasa

Karuna (compassion), with Shanta (peace)

Mood

Penitent, foreboding, self-accusing

Themes

• Dharma
• Karma-phala
• Ethics
• Itihasa
• Satya

Symbolism

Relationships

Cross references

Meter and recitation

Characters & Entities

• Daśaratha
• Kausalyā

FAQs

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

Karma is portrayed as a natural moral law: consequences arise as naturally as illness follows harmful intake.

What is the narrative situation?

Daśaratha interprets his present suffering over Rāma as the matured fruit of his earlier accidental killing.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

Moral clarity: he reads his pain not as random fate but as ethically intelligible consequence.