Valmiki Ramayana 2.46.22: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 46, Shloka 22
तमसातीरवासः · Night on the Bank of the Tamasa and the Stratagem to Elude the Citizens
Spoken by Rama to LakshmanaSetting: Outside Ayodhyā, under trees (vṛkṣamūla)Places named: Ikṣvāku-pura (Ayodhyā)Night halt before departure; citizens’ vigil
अतो भूयोऽपि नेदानीमिक्ष्वाकुपुरवासिनः ।
स्वपेयुरनुरक्ता मां वृक्षमूलानि संश्रिताः ॥२२॥
ato bhūyo 'pi na idānīm ikṣvāku-pura-vāsinaḥ |
svapeyur anuraktā mām vṛkṣa-mūlāni saṁśritāḥ ||22||
Por isso, os devotos habitantes da cidade de Ikṣvāku, que por amor a mim se abrigaram junto às raízes das árvores, não voltarão a dormir esta noite.
Sandhi Notes
- भूयोऽपि → भूयः + अपि
- नेदानीम् → न + इदानीम्
- इदानीमिक्ष्वाकु... → इदानीम् + इक्ष्वाकु...
- स्वपेयुरनुरक्ता → स्वपेयुः + अनुरक्ताः
These loyal inhabitants of Ayodhya, the city of the Ikshvakus will no more sleep again shelterd under the trees.
The teaching
Even pure love can become harmful when it turns into self-neglect; leaders must consider the welfare-effects of their presence.
Duties in tension
- Citizens’ devotion/loyalty vs self-care and social order
- Rama’s compassion for subjects vs necessity to proceed with exile
- Ethical theme
- Lokasaṅgraha / compassion ethics
- How it resolves
- Anticipatory reasoning: depart before their renewed vigil deepens
Devotion and practice
Meditation on viraha-bhakti and the discipline of wakeful remembrance, balanced by non-harming (ahiṃsā) toward oneself.
- Deity praised
- Rama (as object of bhakti, implicit)
Mood and themes
- Rasa
- Karuna (compassion), with Adbhuta (wonder)
- Mood
- Sleepless, yearning, tender
Themes
- Dharma
- Maryada
- Itihasa
- Ethics
- Karuna
- Loka-samgraha
Seeking shelter at tree-roots evokes renunciant imagery; worldly citizens momentarily adopt āranya-vrata due to love—showing how saṅga can mimic tapas.
Forest as a locus of inner turning (āraṇyaka mood), though here driven by prema rather than jñāna.
Rātri
- Rama and Ayodhya citizens
- Subjects’ intense attachment to the righteous heir (devotional)
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.46.20 (citizens’ vow); Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.48 (Ayodhyā’s grief after departure); Rāmacaritamānasa Ayodhyākāṇḍa (citizens’ sleepless lament)
Āraṇyaka/forest-dweller ideal inverted: townspeople adopting forest hardship
Ayodhyākāṇḍa: citizens following Rama and camping outdoors
Anuṣṭup
Solemn
Vilambita gati, soft niṣāda touches to color viraha
FAQs
Dharma includes responsibility toward the community: Rama considers the emotional and physical hardship of the citizens and seeks to reduce their suffering.
Rama anticipates that if he delays, the citizens—already keeping vigil outdoors—will continue to grieve and remain sleepless.
Empathy and public-mindedness—Rama’s awareness of how his actions affect the wider populace.
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Valmiki Ramayana in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.
