Valmiki Ramayana 2.71.22: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 71, Shloka 22
भरतस्य अयोध्याप्रत्यागमनम् · Bharata’s Return Journey and the Distant Sight of Ayodhya
Spoken by Rama to SumantraSetting: Ayodhya outskirts/near parksPlaces named: उद्यानानि, अयोध्या (implied)Approach/entry observation
उद्यानानि हि सायाह्ने क्रीडित्वोपरतैर्नरैः ॥२२॥
समन्तात्परिधावद्भिः प्रकाशन्ते ममान्यथा ।
udyānāni hi sāyāhne krīḍitvoparatair naraiḥ ||22||
samantāt paridhāvadbhiḥ prakāśante mamānyathā |
De fato, os jardins que ao entardecer costumavam brilhar com pessoas caminhando por toda parte após suas diversões, agora me parecem diferentes, desprovidos daquela vivacidade de antes.
Sandhi Notes
- krīḍitvōparataiḥ = krīḍitvā + uparataiḥ (ā + u → o)
- uparatairnaraiḥ = uparataiḥ + naraiḥ (ḥ before n → r in writing: -airn-)
- samantātparidhāvadbhiḥ = samantāt + paridhāvadbhiḥ
I do not see people who with passion used to stroll in the parks early in the morning. I see no cheerfulness in any one.
The teaching
When the social heart is wounded, even places of recreation lose their radiance—outer brightness depends on inner and communal well-being.
- Ethical theme
- Sāmājika-dharma (collective well-being)
For your practice
Vairāgya support: reflecting on how pleasure-spaces fade helps loosen attachment; encourages seeking steadier joy through japa/dhyāna.
Mood and themes
- Rasa
- Karuna (compassion), with Shanta (peace)
- Mood
- Faded-liveliness, empty-gardens, quiet-mourning
Themes
- Dharma
- Satya
- Itihasa
- Ethics
- Grief
- Urban life
Pleasure-spaces (udyāna) losing radiance illustrates that joy is not in objects but in consciousness; when the mind is afflicted, the same scene appears ‘otherwise’.
Sense-objects’ inability to grant lasting fulfillment echoes the Upanishadic turn from preyas (pleasant) to śreyas (good).
Sāyankāla (as remembered/contrasted)
- Rama and Sumantra
- Shared witnessing of change (somber)
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.71.21 (missing city sound); Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.5 (Ayodhya’s gardens and prosperity in earlier description)
Epic convention: nature/urban spaces mirroring human sorrow (pathetic fallacy)
Ayodhya-kanda descriptions of Ayodhya’s desolation after Daśaratha’s death
Anuṣṭup
Grieving
Mandra (low register)
FAQs
Public spaces mirror the moral and emotional state of society. When righteousness and trust are shaken, even harmless recreation loses its light—suggesting dharma’s role in sustaining communal harmony.
Rama compares the gardens’ former brightness—full of strolling citizens—with their present altered, subdued appearance.
Rama’s sensitivity and truthfulness (satya): he reports what he perceives without denial, acknowledging the city’s changed mood.
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