Valmiki Ramayana 2.76.4-5: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 76, Shlokas 4-5
दशरथस्य अन्त्येष्टि
विधानम् · Dasaratha’s Funeral Rites and Ayodhya’s Mourning
Setting: अयोध्या, palace mortuary/inner hall where the body is displayed
उद्धृतं तैलसंरोधात्सतु भूमौ निवेशितम् ।
आपीतवर्णवदनं प्रसुप्तमिव भूमिपम् ॥४॥
संवेश्य शयने चाग्य्रे नानारत्नपरिष्कृते ।
ततो दशरथं पुत्रो विललाप सुदुःखितः ॥५॥
uddhṛtaṃ tailasaṃrodhāt sa tu bhūmau niveśitam |
āpītavarṇavadanaṃ prasuptam iva bhūmipam ||4||
saṃveśya śayane cāgrye nānāratnapariṣkṛte |
tato daśarathaṃ putro vilalāpa suduḥkhitaḥ ||5||
พระเจ้าทศรถถูกอัญเชิญออกจากภาชนะที่กักเก็บไว้ด้วยน้ำมัน แล้ววางลงบนพื้นดิน; พระพักตร์มีสีเหลืองซีดดุจผู้หลับใหล ครั้นจัดบรรทมบนแท่นบรรทมอันงดงามประดับรัตนะนานาแล้ว พระโอรสผู้เศร้าโศกยิ่งก็ร่ำไห้คร่ำครวญ
Sandhi Notes
- तैलसंरोधात्सतु → तैलसंरोधात् सः तु
- संयोजितपाठ: चाग्य्रे → च अग्रे
- नानारत्नपरिष्कृते (समास)
- ततः दशरथं → ततः दशरथम्
The mortal remains of king Dasaratha, protector of the earth, was taken out of the oil container and placed on the floor. His pale, yellow face appeared as if he was asleep. Thereafter it was laid upon a magnificent couch adorned with every kind of gem. On seeing Dasaratha in that state Bharata lamented in extreme distress.
The teaching
Royal splendor cannot shield one from anityatā; mourning must eventually be carried into right action.
Duties in tension
- पुत्र-शोक (overwhelming grief)
- संस्कार-कर्तव्य (continuing rites and royal protocol)
- Ethical theme
- अनित्यबोध / पितृधर्म
- How it resolves
- Not yet resolved in this verse; grief peaks before duty proceeds
For your practice
Contemplation on impermanence (anitya-bhāvanā) and compassionate presence with grief.
Mood and themes
- Rasa
- Karuna (compassion), with Shanta (peace)
- Mood
- Lamenting, stillness, piercing
Themes
- Dharma
- Impermanence (anityatā)
- Royal funeral customs
- Śoka (grief)
- Itihasa
- Ethics
The ‘asleep’ body underscores the distinction between deha and the departed jīva; external adornment cannot restore prāṇa—echoing viveka between transient form and the unseen principle.
Katha Upaniṣad’s meditation on death’s inevitability and the body as perishable; the sleep/death analogy resonates with Upaniṣadic discussions of svapna and departure (without asserting identity).
Mahābhārata: laments over Bhīṣma/Droṇa bodies laid in honor (scene-parallel); Rāmcaritmānas: Bharata’s intense grief on seeing Daśaratha’s passing (episode-parallel)
Smṛti practice of preserving the body until rites/relatives arrive (implied by oil preservation)
Ayodhyākāṇḍ: description of Daśaratha’s death and the waiting for Bharata; subsequent lamentations by family
अनुष्टुप् (śloka)
Grieving
Slow vilambita; lowered register on ‘विललाप’ with sustained cadence
FAQs
Dharma includes honoring the dead with proper rites and dignity; even amid grief, the community maintains respectful procedures for a ruler’s final journey.
Daśaratha’s preserved body is brought out, arranged for the rites, and Bharata, seeing him, breaks into lamentation.
Filial devotion and reverence—Bharata’s grief reflects love and responsibility toward his father.
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