Valmiki Ramayana 2.75.7: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 75, Shloka 7
अयोध्याकाण्डे पञ्चसप्ततितमः सर्गः
Sarga 75: Bharata and Kausalya · Reproach, Oaths, and Reconciliation
Setting: Ayodhya palace (from Sumitrā’s vicinity toward Bharata’s location)Places named: AyodhyaWithin-palace movement toward meeting Bharata
एवमुक्त्वा सुमित्रां सा विवर्णा मलिना कृशा ।
प्रतस्थे भरतो यत्र वेपमाना विचेतना ॥७॥
evam uktvā sumitrāṃ sā vivarṇā malinā kṛśā |
pratasthē bharato yatra vepamānā vicetanā ||7||
సుమిత్రతో ఇలా చెప్పి, వర్ణహీనగా, మలినంగా, కృశంగా ఉన్న కౌసల్య వణుకుతూ, దాదాపు చైతన్యరహితగా, భరతుడు ఉన్న చోటికి బయలుదేరెను.
Sandhi Notes
- रामानुजश्चापि = रामानुजः च अपि
- शत्रुघ्नसहितस्तदा = शत्रुघ्न-सहितः तदा
Having said so to Sumitra, Kausalya trembling and almost lifeless, emaciated, sullied and turned pallid set out for the place where Bharat was.
The teaching
Even when grief weakens the body, dharma may require moving toward dialogue and clarity rather than remaining immobilized.
Duties in tension
- Duty to maintain composure as senior queen
- Duty to seek truth/engage Bharata in the crisis
- Duty of self-care vs urgent moral-political confrontation
- Ethical theme
- Courage under sorrow; responsibility in family crisis
- How it resolves
- Action despite weakness (approach/meeting)
For your practice
Witnessing grief without collapse; cultivating steadiness (dhairya) and compassionate support for the suffering.
Mood and themes
- Rasa
- Karuna (compassion), with Bhayanaka (fear)
- Mood
- Shattered, tremulous, fainting
Themes
- Dharma
- Grief
- Maternal suffering
- Itihasa narrative
Duḥkha manifests as deha-abhimāna’s fragility; the psyche’s agitation (rajas) overwhelms prāṇa—prompting a turn toward inner steadiness.
Praśna/Kaṭha imagery of prāṇa and mind wavering; the need for dhairya (steadfastness) amid loss.
- Kausalya and Sumitra
- Co-wives/queens; confidantes in grief (weary-trusting)
- Kausalya and Bharata
- Stepmother going to meet stepson amid turmoil (trembling-anxious)
- Kausalya and Rama
- Mother destabilized by son’s exile (grief-stricken)
Rāmacaritamānasa, Ayodhyākāṇḍa: queens’ physical decline in separation from Rāma; Purāṇic/Itihāsa motifs: grief described through bodily pallor and trembling
Āyurvedic/poetic convention: śoka causing kṛśatā and vaivarṇya
Ayodhyākāṇḍa: repeated depictions of Kausalyā’s collapse after Daśaratha’s death and Rāma’s departure
Anuṣṭup (śloka)
Grieving
Vilambita with soft descent on 'vepamānā vicetanā'
FAQs
Dharma here appears as steadfastness in relational duty: despite overwhelming grief, Kausalyā moves toward engagement and responsibility rather than withdrawal.
Immediately after addressing Sumitrā, Kausalyā physically goes to meet Bharata.
Kausalyā’s endurance (kṣānti and fortitude) is shown—she acts even when emotionally and physically weakened.
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