Valmiki Ramayana 2.112.19: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 112, Shloka 19
पादुकाप्रदानम्
The Gift of the Sandals and Delegated Kingship
Spoken by Rama to BharataSetting: Chitrakuta (near the Mandakini)Bharata’s embassy to recall Rama from exile
कामाद्वा तात लोभाद्वा मात्रातुभ्यमिदं कृतम् ।
न तन्मनसि कर्तव्यं वर्तितव्यं च मातृवत् ॥१९॥
kāmād vā tāta lobhād vā mātrā tubhyam idaṃ kṛtam |
na tan manasi kartavyaṃ vartitavyaṃ ca mātṛvat ||19||
ลูกเอ๋ย ไม่ว่าด้วยความรักหรือด้วยความโลภ มารดาของเจ้ากระทำสิ่งนี้เพื่อเจ้า อย่าเก็บไว้เป็นความขุ่นเคืองในใจ จงประพฤติต่อเธอประหนึ่งมารดา
Sandhi Notes
- kāmād vā: कामात् + वा
- lobhād vā: लोभात् + वा
- mātrā tubhyam: मात्रा + तुभ्यम्
- idaṃ kṛtam: इदम् + कृतम्
- tat manasi: तत् + मनसि
Dear brother, whether out of affection or greed, your mother has done this for yoursake. It should not agitate your mind. You should conduct yourself as one should towards one's mother.
The teaching
Do not let resentment settle in the mind; uphold filial respect and practice forbearance even when wronged.
Duties in tension
- Condemning injustice vs honoring one’s mother
- Righteous anger vs forgiveness and social harmony
- Ethical theme
- Kṣamā / filial dharma
- How it resolves
- Reframing and forgiveness (mātṛvat conduct)
For your practice
Practical sādhana of kṣamā: daily reflection to release resentment; supports japa by reducing mental agitation.
Mood and themes
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace), with Karuna (compassion)
- Mood
- Reconciliatory, gentle, ethical
Themes
- Dharma
- Satya
- Maryada
- Itihasa
- Ethics
- Filial conduct
- Forgiveness
Non-reactivity and forgiveness as prerequisites for antaḥkaraṇa-śuddhi; seeing roles (mother) beyond transient faults.
Echo of self-mastery ideals (indriya/manas nigraha) implicit in ‘do not lodge it in the mind’.
- Rama and Bharata
- Elder brother counseling younger brother (compassionate)
- Bharata and Kaikeyi
- Son responding to mother’s wrongdoing (conflicted)
- Rama and Kaikeyi
- Stepmother implicated in exile; advised to be treated as mother (forgiving)
Mahābhārata, Śānti Parva: kṣamā as highest dharma (kṣamā paramo dharmaḥ—traditional maxim); Rāmacaritamānasa, Ayodhyākāṇḍa: Bharata’s anguish and Rama’s pacifying counsel
Dharmaśāstra ethos: honoring mother despite faults
Ayodhyākāṇḍa: Rama’s consistent refusal to blame Kaikeyi and insistence on dharma-centered conduct
Anuṣṭup (śloka)
Solemn
Madhyama-gati with soft nyāsa on ‘मातृवत्’
FAQs
Mātṛ-dharma and kṣamā: one should not abandon reverence for one’s mother, even when her actions cause harm; duty is maintained without hatred.
Rāma counsels Bharata not to be disturbed or resentful toward Kaikeyī, despite her role in the exile and succession crisis.
Forbearance and moral clarity: separating wrongful acts from the enduring obligations of familial respect.
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