Valmiki Ramayana 2.73.16: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 73, Shloka 16

भरतस्य कैकेय्याः प्रति धिक्कारः · Bharata’s Rebuke of Kaikeyi and Affirmation of Ikshvaku Royal Dharma

Spoken by Bharata to KaikeyiSetting: Ayodhyā (royal precincts)

Devanagari script

सोऽहं कथमिमं भारं महाधुर्यसमुद्धृतम् ।

दम्योधुरमिवाऽऽसाद्य वहेयं केनचौजसा ॥१६॥

Recitation with translationValmiki Ramayana 2.73.16

Transliteration

so 'haṃ katham imaṃ bhāraṃ mahā-dhurya-samuddhṛtam |

damyaḥ dhuram ivā 'sādya vaheyaṃ kena caujasā ||16||

Translation

Jakże mógłbym unieść ten ciężar, godny jedynie wielkiego byka zaprzężonego do jarzma? Jak nieoswojony młody byk stawiający czoła ciężkiemu jarzmu, jaką siłą mógłbym go dźwigać?

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Word by Word

• saḥ: that (one); such
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (तद्, सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; in apposition with aham = 'I, such as I am'
• Role: Karta (कर्ता; apposition)

• aham: I
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (अस्मद्, सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Prathamā, Ekavacana
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)

• katham: how
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (अव्यय)
• Form: Interrogative adverb
• Role: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)

• imam: this
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (इदम्, सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napuṃsakaliṅga? here agrees with bhāram (m.) so Puṃliṅga, Dvitīyā, Ekavacana
• Role: Karma (कर्म; determiner)

• bhāram: burden
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhāra (भार, प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Dvitīyā, Ekavacana
• Role: Karma (कर्म/Object of vaheyaṃ)

• mahā-dhurya-samuddhṛtam: borne/raised by a great yoke-worthy (bull)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā (महा) + dhurya (धुर्य) + sam-ud-√dhṛ (समुद्-धृ, धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: Compound used adjectivally; mahādhurya = karmadhāraya 'great (bull) fit for yoke'; samuddhṛta = kta-ppp 'lifted/carried'; Napuṃsakaliṅga, Dvitīyā, Ekavacana agreeing with bhāram
• Role: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Compound: Karmadharaya

• damyaḥ: a young untrained (bull)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: damya (दम्य, प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; 'to be tamed/young (needing training)'
• Role: Upamāna (उपमान; compared agent)

• dhuram: the yoke/burden
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhurā/dhura (धुर्/धुरा, प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (f.) or Puṃliṅga usage; here Dvitīyā, Ekavacana; 'yoke/burden'
• Role: Karma (कर्म; in simile)

• iva: like
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iva (अव्यय)
• Form: Upamā-avyaya (comparative particle)
• Role: Upamā-dyotaka (उपमा-द्योतक)

• āsādya: having undertaken; having taken up
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-√sad (आ-सद्, धातु)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वा-प्रत्यय: ल्यप्), 'having approached/undertaken'
• Role: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (पूर्वकाल-क्रिया)

• vaheyaṃ: could I carry
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vah (वह्, धातु)
• Form: Vidhiliṅ-lakāra (optative), Parasmaipada, Uttama-puruṣa, Ekavacana
• Role: Kriyā (क्रिया)

• kena: by what
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (किम्, सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tṛtīyā, Ekavacana
• Role: Karaṇa (करण)

• ca: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Samuccaya-nipāta (conjunction)
• Role: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)

• ojasā: with strength
• Type: Noun
• Root: ojas (ओजस्, प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napuṃsakaliṅga (n.), Tṛtīyā, Ekavacana
• Role: Karaṇa (करण/Instrument)

Sandhi Notes

• so'ham = saḥ + aham
• ivā āsādya = iva + āsādya
• kenacaujasā = kena + ca + ojasā

Context

Like a young untrained bullock that cannot carry the weight fit for a great bull, with what strength can I bear this burden?

The teaching

A role gained through adharma becomes a crushing yoke; true strength is refusing illegitimate power.

Duties in tension

• Obedience to queen-mother’s political demand vs loyalty to elder brother’s rightful kingship
• Acceptance of kingship for stability vs refusal of adharmic gain

Ethical theme

Rājadharma / kula-dharma

How it resolves

Renunciation/refusal grounded in rājadharma and fraternal dharma

For your practice

Cultivates vairāgya toward power and steadiness in dharma under pressure.

Mood and themes

Rasa

Karuna (compassion), with Shanta (peace)

Mood

Overwhelmed, self-doubting, burdened

Themes

• Dharma
• Kingship
• Humility
• Responsibility
• Simile (upamā)

Symbolism

Relationships

Cross references

Meter and recitation

Characters & Entities

• Bharata

FAQs

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

Dharma requires fitness for responsibility; accepting rulership without rightful capacity and legitimacy is portrayed as improper and dangerous.

What is the narrative situation?

Bharata expresses his unworthiness to shoulder the kingdom’s burden in Rāma’s absence, using a vivid agrarian metaphor.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

Self-knowledge and humility—Bharata refuses inflated self-assessment and recognizes the true standard of leadership.