Valmiki Ramayana 2.103.5: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 103, Shloka 5
पिण्डदानदर्शनम् · The Queens Behold Rama’s Śrāddha Offering
Spoken by Kausalya to SumitraSetting: forest camp/hermitage vicinity where water is fetchedDaily life in exile; service routines
इत स्सुमित्रे पुत्रस्ते सदा जलमतन्द्रितः ।
स्वयं हरति सौमित्रिर्मम पुत्रस्य कारणात् ॥५॥
itaḥ sumitre putras te sadā jalam atandritaḥ |
svayaṁ harati saumitrir mama putrasya kāraṇāt ||5||
اے سُمِترا! یہاں سے تمہارا بیٹا سَومِتری—ہمیشہ چوکنا اور محنتی—خود ہی پانی لاتا ہے، میرے بیٹے کی خاطر۔
Sandhi Notes
- इत स्सुमित्रे = इतः + सुमित्रे (visarga sandhi; orthography shows doubled s)
- पुत्रस्ते = पुत्रः + ते
O Sumitra, your son Lakshmana, free from laziness, always carries water from here for the sake of my son.
The teaching
Dharma often appears as quiet service: diligence in small acts sustains the righteous in hardship.
- Ethical theme
- Sevā-dharma / fraternal duty
For your practice
Encourages daily seva as sadhana—serving family/teacher/ideal with steadiness; cultivates humility and devotion.
Mood and themes
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace), with Karuna (compassion)
- Mood
- Dutiful, tender, austere
Themes
- Dharma
- Seva (service)
- Fraternal duty
- Maryada
- Satya
Karma-yoga: humble action done for another without self-claim purifies the mind; service becomes worship.
Service as a form of yajña—offering one’s effort; echoes the ethic of disciplined action supporting inner clarity.
- Sumitra and Saumitri
- Mother–son; maternal pride and concern implied (tender-proud)
- Saumitri and Rama
- Devoted younger brother serving elder brother (devoted)
Ayodhyākāṇḍa and Araṇyakāṇḍa passages highlighting Lakshmana’s constant service to Rama and Sita
Bhakti traditions later foreground Lakshmana as ideal sevaka (e.g., Rāmacaritamānasa portrayal of Lakshmana-sevā)
Lakshmana’s vows of service upon leaving Ayodhya (Ayodhyākāṇḍa earlier sections)
Anuṣṭup
Narrative-solemn
Madhyama (middle register)
FAQs
Dharma appears as selfless service: Lakṣmaṇa’s willing labor for Rāma models devoted duty without ego or complaint.
Kausalyā points out to Sumitrā how Lakṣmaṇa personally performs humble tasks in the forest for Rāma’s sake.
Lakṣmaṇa’s atandritatā—unceasing diligence—expressed through practical service.
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