Valmiki Ramayana 2.12.13: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 12, Shloka 13
द्वादशः सर्गः · Kaikeyi’s Boons and Dasaratha’s Moral Collapse
Ayodhya Kanda 12
Spoken by Dasharatha to KaikeyiSetting: Ayodhyā palacePlaces named: Ayodhyā
तिष्ठेल्लोको विना सूर्यं शस्यं वा सलिलं विना ॥१३॥
न तु रामं विना देहे तिष्ठेत्तु मम जीवितम् ।
tiṣṭhel loko vinā sūryaṃ śasyaṃ vā salilaṃ vinā ||13||
na tu rāmaṃ vinā dehe tiṣṭhet tu mama jīvitam |
โลกอาจดำรงอยู่ได้แม้ไร้ดวงอาทิตย์ และพืชผลอาจมีได้แม้ไร้น้ำ; แต่หากไร้พระราม ชีวิตในกายของข้าย่อมไม่อาจคงอยู่
Sandhi Notes
- Resolved sandhi: तिष्ठेत् + लोकः → तिष्ठेल्लोको
- तिष्ठेत् + तु → तिष्ठेत्तु
- सूर्यं (anusvāra before ś)
- rāmaṃ (anusvāra before v). Padas taken as: तिष्ठेत् लोकः विना सूर्यं शस्यम् वा सलिलम् विना | न तु रामम् विना देहे तिष्ठेत् तु मम जीवितम् |
This world can exist without the Sun or crops (can be grown) without water but without Rama, life would not exist in my body.
The teaching
Grief magnifies the beloved into a cosmic necessity; the wise learn to honor love without letting it extinguish inner steadiness.
- Ethical theme
- Emotional extremity and dependence
For your practice
Can be re-read devotionally: without Rāma (as dharma/inner light), life is barren; supports japa/smaraƺ as stabilizing practice in sorrow.
Mood and themes
- Rasa
- Karuna (compassion), with Adbhuta (wonder)
- Mood
- Hyperbolic, despairing, cosmic
Themes
- Dharma
- Satya
- Ethics
- Hyperbole (alaṅkāra)
- Grief
- Kingship and succession
The verse inadvertently points to the true 'sūrya' within (Self) as the real sustainer; mistaking an external person as sole life-source exemplifies adhyāsa (superimposition).
Sūrya as prāƺ/tejas motif (e.g., prāƺ-tejas discussions); also the idea that without the inner light nothing stands, mirrored here in personal form.
- Dasharatha and Rama
- Father-son; life declared impossible without him (absolute dependence, lament)
Vālmīki Rāmāyaƺ Ayodhyākāƽa: Daśaratha's repeated 'na jīviƹyāmi vinā rāmam' sentiments; Rāmacaritamānasa Ayodhyākāƽa: cosmic hyperboles for separation from Rāma
Vedic imagery of sūrya and āpaƹ as sustainers of life
2.12.13 (joy/presence vs collapse/absence); 2.12.113 (life and happiness denied without son)
Anuƹubh
Grieving
Expanded range with emphasis on 'sūryaƹ' and 'rāmaƹ'; elongated cadence on 'jīvitam'
FAQs
The verse underscores how dharmic bonds (father–son, king–heir) are treated as life-sustaining. It also foreshadows the ethical cost of separating the righteous heir from the king through adharma-driven manipulation.
Daśaratha intensifies his plea, expressing that Rāma’s absence would be fatal to him.
Daśaratha’s transparent love and emotional truthfulness, even when it exposes weakness.
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