Valmiki Ramayana 2.44.3-4: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 44, Shlokas 3-4
सुमित्रोपदेशः · Sumitra’s Consolation to Kausalya
Spoken by Sumitra to KausalyaSetting: Ayodhyā (palace discourse)Rāma has departed for exile (vana-gamana) after renouncing kingdom
यस्तवार्ये गतः पुत्रस्त्यक्त्वा राज्यं महाबलः ।
साधु कुर्वन् महात्मानं पितरं सत्यवादिनम् ॥३॥
शिष्टैराचरिते सम्यक्छश्वत्प्रेत्यफलोदये ।
रामो धर्मे स्थित श्रेष्ठो न स शोच्यः कदाचन ॥४॥
yas tavārye gataḥ putras tyaktvā rājyaṃ mahābalaḥ |
sādhu kurvan mahātmānaṃ pitaraṃ satyavādinam ||3||
śiṣṭair ācarite samyak śaśvat pretya-phalodaye |
rāmo dharme sthitaḥ śreṣṭho na sa śocyaḥ kadācana ||4||
اے شریف خاتون! تیرا مہابلی بیٹا راج چھوڑ کر روانہ ہوا ہے تاکہ اپنے عظیم النفس، سچ بولنے والے پتا کے دھرم یُکت وعدے کو قائم رکھے۔ رام دھرم میں ثابت قدم ہے—وہی اعلیٰ راہ جو شائستگان نے درست طور پر برتی ہے اور جس کے دائمی پھل پرلوک میں پکتے ہیں؛ اس لیے رام پر کبھی ماتم نہیں کرنا چاہیے۔
Sandhi Notes
- यस्तवार्ये = यः + तव + आर्ये
- पुत्रस्त्यक्त्वा = पुत्रः + त्यक्त्वा
- शिष्टैराचरिते = शिष्टैः + आचरिते
- सम्यक्छश्वत् = सम्यक् + शश्वत्
- प्रेत्यफलोदये = प्रेत्य + फलोदये
- रामो = रामः + (अ)
- स्थित श्रेष्ठो = स्थितः + श्रेष्ठः
In order to vindicate the words of his great and truthful father, O noble lady,your mighty son has renounced the kingdom and has gone (to the forest). He has stuck to the path so scrupulously followed by the wise, the everlasting results of which can be fully realised in the world to come. Such a peerless son is never to be grieved over.
The teaching
One established in dharma—especially in truth and obedience to righteous word—need not be mourned; virtue bears enduring fruit beyond death.
Duties in tension
- Rājya-dharma (claim to kingship) vs pitṛ-vākya-pālana (obedience to father’s promise)
- Personal comfort vs śiṣṭācāra/dharma
- Ethical theme
- Rāja-dharma vs pitṛ-dharma; satya
- How it resolves
- Prioritization of satya and filial duty over political entitlement
For your practice
Reflection on satya and duty as spiritual practice; using dharma-vision to transmute grief into steadiness.
Mood and themes
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace), with Vira (heroism)
- Mood
- Resolute, didactic, steadfast
Themes
- Dharma
- Satya
- Pitṛ-vākya-paripālana (Keeping the father's word)
- Renunciation
- Ethics
- Royal Duty
Karma-yoga: relinquishing personal claim to rājya while upholding satya and pitṛ-vākya; orientation to pretya-phala echoes the law of karma and higher good beyond immediate pleasure.
Bṛhadāraṇyaka/Chāndogya emphasis on satya and śiṣṭācāra as the way; the notion of enduring fruit beyond death aligns with karma-phala doctrine.
- Rama and Dasharatha
- Son-father; obedience to father’s truthful word (reverential)
- Sumitra and Kausalya
- Co-wives; moral exhortation and consolation (supportive)
- Rama and Kingdom
- Renunciation of sovereignty for dharma (detached)
- Rama and Dharma
- Steadfast adherence (dharme sthitaḥ) (steadfast)
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.18–2.20 (Rāma accepts exile to honor father’s word); Mahābhārata, Vana/Śānti Parva (praise of satya and śiṣṭācāra; renunciation for dharma); Bhagavad Gītā 2.47, 3.19 (karma-yoga and duty without attachment—conceptual parallel)
Dharmaśāstra ideal of śiṣṭācāra as pramāṇa for dharma; Vedic satya-vrata ethos
Ayodhyākāṇḍa: Kausalyā’s lament and counsel scenes; Sumitrā’s role as consoler in 2.44
Anuṣṭup (śloka)
Solemn
Commanding-narrative, steady madhyama with firm cadence on ‘dharme sthitaḥ’
FAQs
The verse teaches satya and dharma as supreme obligations: Rāma sacrifices personal gain (kingdom) to uphold his father’s truthful commitment, showing that righteousness outweighs worldly power.
Sumitrā explains to Kausalyā that Rāma’s forest departure is not failure but a dharmic act—protecting Daśaratha’s truth and following the path honored by the virtuous.
Rāma’s integrity and self-sacrifice—renunciation undertaken to preserve truth and moral order.
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