Valmiki Ramayana 2.39.35: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 39, Shloka 35
एकोनचत्वारिंशः सर्गः · Dasaratha’s Lament, Sumantra’s Commission, and Sita’s Vow of Marital Dharma
Spoken by Rama to KausalyaSetting: Ayodhya palacePlaces named: AyodhyaPre-departure promise regarding return after exile
सुप्तायास्ते गमिष्यन्ति नव वर्षाणि पञ्च च ।
सा समग्रमिह प्राप्तं मां द्रक्ष्यसि सुहृद्वृतम् ॥३५॥
suptāyās te gamiṣyanti nava varṣāṇi pañca ca |
sā samagram iha prāptaṃ māṃ drakṣyasi suhṛdvṛtam ||35||
‘உனக்கோ அந்த ஒன்பது ஆண்டுகளும் மேலும் ஐந்து ஆண்டுகளும் உறக்கத்தில் கடந்ததுபோல் போய்விடும். பின்னர் நீ என்னை இங்கே முழு நலத்துடன் திரும்பி வந்து, நல்வாழ்த்தும் நண்பர்களால் சூழப்பட்டவனாகக் காண்பாய்.’
Sandhi Notes
- सुप्तायास्ते = सुप्तायाः + ते (ः + त → स् + त)
Fourteen years will pass off like a night's sleep. You will see me come home safeand sound, surrounded by my friends.
The teaching
When duty imposes hardship, holding a clear horizon (a fixed term and safe return) strengthens patience and right action.
Duties in tension
- Enduring separation vs maintaining royal household stability
- Personal grief vs trust in dharma’s ordained term (fixed exile period)
- Ethical theme
- Dhṛti (fortitude) / niyama (rule-bound duty)
- How it resolves
- Promise anchored in rule-bound time: endurance supported by certainty of return
For your practice
Cultivates dhṛti and trust; useful for japa/meditation as a reflection on time, patience, and reunion through dharma.
Mood and themes
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace), with Karuna (compassion)
- Mood
- Reassuring, patient, hopeful
Themes
- Dharma
- Satya
- Consolation
- Hope
- Itihasa
Time’s felt length depends on mind (antaḥkaraṇa); steadiness makes long durations seem brief—an insight aligned with mind-centered experience.
Māṇḍūkya’s ‘sleep’ imagery (as a state) faintly echoes in the metaphor, though here used poetically for perceived time’s quick passage.
- Rama and Kausalya
- Son promises return; reassurance across time (comforting assurance)
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.16-2.18 (the fourteen-year exile term established); Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 6.128 (return to Ayodhya; fulfillment of promised return)
Rāmacaritamānasa, Uttar Kāṇḍa/Ayodhyākāṇḍa (return and reunion motifs; time endured by mothers)
Ayodhyākāṇḍa: repeated assurances about the fixed term of exile and eventual restoration
Anuṣṭup (śloka)
Solemn
Madhyama with gentle cadence, concluding nyāsa on ṣaḍja
FAQs
The verse reinforces satya and steadiness: Rāma offers a truthful, time-bound assurance meant to stabilize Kauśalyā’s mind and help her uphold her own duties during separation.
Rāma comforts his mother by reframing the long exile as something that will pass quickly and by promising his safe return.
Rāma’s reassuring leadership and emotional discipline—he provides hope rather than yielding to despair.
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