Valmiki Ramayana 2.92.27: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 92, Shloka 27
भरद्वाजाश्रमात् चित्रकूटमार्गनिर्देशः · Directions from Bharadvaja’s Hermitage to Chitrakuta
Setting: Bharadvāja āśrama (near Prayāga)Places named: PrayāgaHalt at the hermitage during the march to meet Rāma
इत्युक्त्वा नरशार्दूलो बाष्पगद्गदया गिरा ।
स निश्स्वास ताम्राक्षो नागः कृद्ध इव श्वसन् ॥२७॥
ity uktvā naraśārdūlo bāṣpagadgadayā girā |
sa niśsvāsa tāmrākṣo nāgaḥ kṛddha iva śvasan ||27||
Tak przemówiwszy, ten tygrys wśród ludzi, o czerwonych oczach, ciężko oddychał; jego słowa były zdławione łzami, i syczał jak wąż w gniewie.
Sandhi Notes
- ityuktvā = iti + uktvā
- bāṣpagadgadayā = bāṣpa-gadgadayā (compound)
- niśsvāsa interpreted as niḥśvāsa (aorist of √śvas with nis-/niḥ)
Thus spoke Bharata, the best of men, with his eyes reddened and voice choked with sobs and hissing like a king cobra.
The teaching
Even the virtuous may be seized by grief and anger; dharma requires returning to composure before judgment and action.
Duties in tension
- Righteous indignation against perceived adharma
- Self-restraint and respectful conduct in a sage+cśa presence
- Ethical theme
- Anger management / righteous speech
- How it resolves
- Emotional catharsis preceding counsel
For your practice
Use as contemplation on krodha: observe breath and speech when agitated; return to prāṇa-samyama.
Mood and themes
- Rasa
- Karuna (compassion), with Raudra (fury)
- Mood
- Choked, seething, tearful
Themes
- Dharma
- Grief
- Rage
- Emotional ethics
- Itihasa
Krodha as vṛtti-udaya disturbing antaḥkaraṇa; the simile of serpent suggests latent poison of anger when provoked.
Control of prāṇa and speech as marks of inner mastery (contrasted here by broken voice and heaving breath).
- Bharata and Bharadvaja
- Seeker-sage (confessional outburst before counsel) (turbulent-to-receptive)
- Bharata and Kaikeyi
- Son-mother (anger expressed somatically) (adversarial)
- Bharata and Rama
- Brothers (protective grief) (compassionate)
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.75-2.76 (Bharata+cśa intense lament and denunciation); Mahābhārata Udyoga/Strīparvan (lament imagery: tears choking speech; anger likened to serpent)
Vedic imagery of serpent as anger/poison (ahi/viṣa metaphors in later dharma literature)
Bharadvāja+cśa calming reply in 2.92.28-29
Anuṣṭup
Grieving
Druta rise on similes, then nyūna-gati with heavy pauses to mimic sobbing
FAQs
It implicitly warns that even righteous persons can be overwhelmed by grief and anger; dharma involves mastering emotion so judgment does not become destructive.
After condemning Kaikeyī, Bharata is shown physically shaken—sobbing, sighing, and burning with anger.
Intensity of moral feeling: Bharata’s sorrow and indignation arise from loyalty to righteousness and love for Rāma.
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