Valmiki Ramayana 2.46.23: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 46, Shloka 23
तमसातीरवासः · Night on the Bank of the Tamasa and the Stratagem to Elude the Citizens
Spoken by Rama to LakshmanaSetting: Outside Ayodhyā near the citizens’ camp (implied)Places named: Ayodhyā (implied)Decision-making before departure
पौरा ह्यात्मकृताद्दुःखाद्विप्रमोच्या नृपात्मजैः ।
न तु खल्वात्मना योज्या दुःखेन पुरवासिनः ॥२३॥
paurā hy ātma-kṛtād duḥkhād vipramocyā nṛpātmajaiḥ |
na tu khalv ātmanā yojyā duḥkhena pura-vāsinaḥ ||23||
पौराः स्वकृताद् दुःखाद् नृपात्मजैः विमोचनीयाः; न तु अस्मदर्थं पुरवासिनः दुःखेन आत्मना योजनीयाः।
Sandhi Notes
- ह्यात्मकृताद्दुःखाद् → हि + आत्मकृतात् + दुःखात्
- दुःखाद्विप्रमोच्या → दुःखात् + विप्रमोच्याः
- खल्वात्मना → खलु + आत्मना
The prince should deliver the citizens from the sufferings caused by themselves but should not make them suffer on their account.
The teaching
One should not let one’s personal dharma-observance become a cause of others’ distress; leadership means reducing, not distributing, suffering.
Duties in tension
- Duty to accept exile without causing public upheaval
- Duty of princes to protect citizens from harm, even self-inflicted
- Truthfulness/openness vs compassionate concealment
- Ethical theme
- Rāja-dharma / ahiṃsā / lokahita
- How it resolves
- Compassionate governance: minimize collateral suffering by departing quietly
For your practice
Guidance for householders/leaders: practice dharma with sensitivity to others’ minds; avoid making others bear your burdens.
Mood and themes
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace), with Karuna (compassion)
- Mood
- Ethical, restrained, compassionate
Themes
- Dharma
- Maryada
- Itihasa
- Ethics
- Raja-dharma
- Karuna
Distinguishing self-caused sorrow (avidyā-born saṅga) from necessary duty; compassion acts to reduce saṃsāra-like duḥkha rather than amplify it.
Viveka between the self and its afflictions: suffering is seen as produced, hence removable through right guidance.
Rātri
- Rama and Lakshmana and Ayodhya citizens
- Princes as protectors responsible for citizens’ welfare (protective)
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.46.21-24 (stealth departure justified by compassion and dharma); Mahābhārata Śānti Parva (king’s duty to remove subjects’ distress—general rāja-dharma teaching); Rāmacaritamānasa Ayodhyākāṇḍa (Rama’s compassion for citizens’ grief)
Dharmaśāstra rāja-dharma: prajā-rakṣaṇa and prajā-sukha
Ayodhyākāṇḍa: Rama repeatedly prioritizes others’ welfare over his own comfort
Anuṣṭup
Solemn
Steady madhyama with clear articulation; didactic cadence
FAQs
Rāja-dharma: rulers (and princes) exist to relieve public distress, not to transfer their private burden onto the people.
As Rama prepares for exile, he reflects that the citizens should not be forced into further suffering because of his departure.
Protective leadership and accountability—placing the welfare of subjects above personal circumstance.
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