Shloka 53

अयोध्याकाण्डे विंशः सर्गः

Rama Enters Kauśalyā’s Antaḥpura; Ritual Preparations and the Shock of Exile

Devanagari script

यदि ह्यकाले मरणं स्वयेच्छयालभेत कश्चिद्गुरुदुःखकर्शितः।गताहमद्यैव परेतसंसदंविना त्वया धेनुरिवात्मजेन वै।।।।

Transliteration

yadi hy akāle maraṇaṃ svayecchayā labheta kaścid guruduḥkhakarśitaḥ |

gatāham adyaiva paretasaṃsadaṃ vinā tvayā dhenur ivātmajena vai ||

Translation

అసహ్యమైన దుఃఖంతో నలిగినవాడు తన ఇష్టంతో అకాలమరణం పొందగలిగితే, నేను ఈ రోజే పరలోకసభకు (యమసభకు) వెళ్లిపోయేవాడిని; ఎందుకంటే నీవు లేక నేను దూడలేని ఆవులా ఉన్నాను.

Word by Word

• yadi: if
• yadi: हेतु/शर्त (condition)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadi (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्बन्धबोधक-अव्ययम् (conditional particle) — 'if'

• hi: indeed, for
• hi: सम्बन्ध/निपात (emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात-अव्ययम् (emphatic/causal particle)

• akāle: at an untimely time
• akāle: अधिकरण (locative circumstance)
• Type: Noun
• Root: akāla (प्रातिपदिकम्: a-kāla)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे/नपुंसकलिङ्गे (usage varies), सप्तमी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; अव्ययीभावार्थे 'अकाले' = 'at an untimely time'

• maraṇam: death
• maraṇam: कर्म (object of labheta)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maraṇa (प्रातिपदिकम्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गम्, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• svayecchayā: by one’s own will
• svayecchayā: करण (instrument/means: by one’s own will)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sva (प्रातिपदिकम्) + icchā (प्रातिपदिकम्)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (स्वस्य इच्छा = स्वेच्छा); स्त्रीलिङ्गम्, तृतीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• labheta: might obtain / could get
• labheta: क्रिया (verbal action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √labh (धातु: लभँ)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्, परस्मैपदम्

• kaścit: someone, anyone
• kaścit: कर्ता (subject of labheta)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kaścit (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिकम्: kim + cit)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; अनिश्चितवाचक-सर्वनाम (indefinite pronoun)

• guruduḥkhakarśitaḥ: tormented by heavy grief
• guruduḥkhakarśitaḥ: कर्ता (qualifier of subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: guru (प्रातिपदिकम्) + duḥkha (प्रातिपदिकम्) + karśita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिकम्; √kṛś/√karś 'to emaciate/torment')
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समासः (गुरुं दुःखं येन कर्शितः); पुंलिङ्गम्, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; विशेषणम् (kaścit इत्यस्य)

• gatā: gone / would have reached
• gatā: क्रिया (predicative participle)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gata (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिकम्; √gam धातु: गम् + क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त-भूतकर्मणि/भूतकृत् (past participle) स्त्रीलिङ्गम्, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; 'अहम्' इत्यस्य सह—'I (fem.) gone/reached'

• aham: I
• aham: कर्ता (subject of gatā)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिकम्)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• adya: today, now
• adya: काल-अधिकरण (time circumstance)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: adya (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्ययम् (adverb of time)

• eva: indeed, just
• eva: निपात (emphasis: just/indeed)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात-अव्ययम् (restrictive/emphatic particle)

• paretasaṃsadam: the assembly of the departed (Yama’s court)
• paretasaṃsadam: कर्म/गति-लक्ष्य (destination as object with gatā)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pareta (प्रातिपदिकम्) + saṃsad (प्रातिपदिकम्)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (परेतानां संसत् = assembly of the departed); स्त्रीलिङ्गम् (संसद्), द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• vinā: without
• vinā: अपादान/वियोग (separation/absence)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vinā (अव्यय)
• Form: उपसर्गसदृश-अव्ययम्/पूर्वपद-निपातः; तृतीया-सहयोगे 'without' (governs instrumental)

• tvayā: by/with you; here: without you
• tvayā: वियोग-निर्देश (one absent: without you)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिकम्)
• Form: मध्यमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, तृतीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• dhenuḥ: a cow
• dhenuḥ: उपमान (standard of comparison)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhenu (प्रातिपदिकम्)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गम्, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• iva: like, as
• iva: उपमा-द्योतक (comparative marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iva (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमावाचक-अव्ययम् (particle of comparison)

• ātmajena: with an offspring; here: without an offspring
• ātmajena: वियोग-निर्देश (with vinā: without offspring)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ātma (प्रातिपदिकम्) + ja (प्रातिपदिकम्; from √jan 'to be born')
• Form: तत्पुरुषः (आत्मनः जातः = offspring/son); पुंलिङ्गम्, तृतीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• vai: indeed, surely
• vai: निपात (emphasis/assurance)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात-अव्ययम् (emphatic/assuring particle)

Context

If any one, tormented with great sorrow, could willingly commit suicide I would have gone the way to the assembly of Yama (the lord of death) right away as without you I will be now like a cow without a calf.

Characters & Entities

• Kausalya
• Rama
• Yama (implied by paretasaṃsad)

FAQs

What is the core ethical principle (Dharma) in this verse?

The verse highlights the moral weight of grief and attachment, while implicitly contrasting it with dharma: even when despair tempts one toward self-destruction, dharma calls for endurance and right action rather than surrender to impulse.

What is the narrative situation?

Kausalya laments to Rama in the palace context of impending separation, expressing that life without him feels like death and invoking Yama’s realm as an image of immediate departure.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

Kausalya’s intense maternal love and emotional truthfulness are emphasized; she speaks candidly from grief, revealing the depth of her bond with Rama.