Valmiki Ramayana 2.116.3: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 116, Shloka 3
तपस्विनाम् औत्सुक्यं राक्षसत्रासश्च
Ascetics’ Anxiety and the Fear of Rakshasas
Setting: Forest hermitage (āśrama) in Daṇḍakāraṇya region (context of Ayodhyākāṇḍa exile route)Exile-journey; approaching/sojourning at a hermitage
नयनैर्ब्रुकुटीभिश्च रामं निर्दिश्य शङ्किताः ।
अन्योन्यमुपजल्पन्त श्शनैश्चक्रुर्मिथः कथाः ॥३॥
nayanair bhru-kuṭībhiś ca rāmaṃ nirdiśya śaṅkitāḥ |
anyonyam upajalpanta śanaiś cakrur mithaḥ kathāḥ ||3||
تپسوی، رام کی طرف مشکوک نگاہوں سے دیکھتے اور بھنویں چڑھاتے ہوئے، آہستہ آہستہ آپس میں سرگوشی کرنے لگے اور رازدارانہ باتیں بدلنے لگے۔
Sandhi Notes
- नयनैर्ब्रुकुटीभिश्च = नयनैः + भ्रुकुटीभिः + च
- श्शनैश्चक्रुः = शनैः + चक्रुः (पाठभेदे ‘शशनैः’ इति लेखनदोषः)
- रामं = रामम् (अनुस्वार-परिवर्तन)
Those sages, glancing at Rama with suspicious eyes, knitting their eye-brows and murmering among themselves, conversed secretly.
The teaching
When communal unease arises, protect dharma through measured counsel and then clear inquiry rather than rash judgment.
Duties in tension
- Hospitality to a guest (atithi-dharma) vs safeguarding the āśrama from potential danger
- Speaking openly vs maintaining prudent secrecy until facts are known
- Ethical theme
- Communal prudence / āśrama-protection
- How it resolves
- Deferred inquiry (seeking clarification through the hermitage-chief)
For your practice
Practice of mauna/mitabhāṣā (measured speech) and saṃyama in community; cultivate discernment before reaction.
Mood and themes
- Rasa
- Bhayanaka (fear), with Karuna (compassion)
- Mood
- Suspicious, hushed, uneasy
Themes
- Dharma
- Satya
- Hermitage life
- Social perception
- Ascetic decorum
- Ethics
The mind’s saṅkalpa-vikalpa (doubt/alternatives) projecting fear before knowledge; need for pramāṇa via the guru/ṛṣi.
Mundaka-style emphasis on approaching the knower (śrotriya) when doubt arises; movement from suspicion to inquiry.
- Tapasvins and Rama
- Hermits observing a royal guest; cautious appraisal (wary)
- Tapasvins and Tapasvins
- Intra-ashrama counsel; confidential deliberation (anxious)
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Araṇyakāṇḍa: sages’ anxiety about rākṣasa-threat and seeking Rāma’s protection (general parallel motif); Mahābhārata, Vana-parvan: hermits conferring about dangers in the forest and the need for kṣatriya protection (motif-parallel)
Vedic sabhā/counsel motifs: quiet deliberation before speech
Ayodhyākāṇḍa: repeated depiction of forest-communities reacting to Rāma’s arrival with mixed reverence and concern (contextual)
Anuṣṭup (śloka)
Narrative
Madhyama-gati, subdued (mandra-to-madhya)
FAQs
The verse highlights communal vigilance in an āśrama: ascetics protect dharma by observing conduct closely and discussing concerns discreetly before making accusations.
In a hermitage setting, the sages notice something that makes them uneasy; they look at Rāma with suspicion and whisper among themselves.
The ascetics’ concern for āśrama-dharma and propriety—guarding the sanctity of the hermitage through careful observation.
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