Valmiki Ramayana 2.71.19-20: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 71, Shlokas 19-20
भरतस्य अयोध्याप्रत्यागमनम् · Bharata’s Return Journey and the Distant Sight of Ayodhya
Spoken by Rama to SumantraSetting: Approach to Ayodhya (seen from afar)Places named: अयोध्याArrival-vision before entry
एषा नातिप्रतीता मे पुण्योद्याना यशस्विनी ॥१९॥
अयोध्या दृश्यते दूरात्सारथे पाण्डुमृत्तिका ।
यज्वभिर्गुणसम्पन्नैर्ब्राह्मणैर्वेदपारगैः ॥२०॥
भूयिष्ठमृद्धैराकीर्णा राजर्षिपरिपालिता ।
eṣā nātipratītā me puṇyodyānā yaśasvinī ||19||
ayodhyā dṛśyate dūrāt sārathe pāṇḍumṛttikā |
yajvabhir guṇasampannair brāhmaṇair vedapāragaiḥ ||20||
bhūyiṣṭham ṛddhair ākīrṇā rājarṣi-paripālitā |
اے سارَتھی! دور سے ایودھیا دکھائی دیتی ہے—یَشَسْوِنی، مقدّس باغوں والی—مگر مجھے وہ صاف نمایاں نہیں ہو رہی۔ وہ پاندُو مِٹّی (سفید مٹی) سے آراستہ نگری، راجَرشیوں کے زیرِ نگہبانی، بہت سے مالداروں سے بھری ہے؛ اور گُنوں سے آراستہ برہمنوں اور یَجْوَ (یَجْن کرنے والے) وید پارگوں سے بھی کثرت سے معمور ہے۔
Sandhi Notes
- एतत्सुरुचिरम् = एतत् + सुरुचिरम्
- शशिनेवामलम् = शशिना + इव + अमलम्
- तोयदात्यये treated as compound toयद-अत्यय (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)
O charioteer! I am able to see Ayodhya of great renown from a distance but not so clearly that white-clay-city of Ayodhya, with its sacred gardens ruled by several rajarsis, inhabited by numerous wealthy people, by virtuous brahmins and priests who perform sacrifices and who are well-versed in the Vedas.
The teaching
A polity’s glory is measured by dharma-markers—sacred groves, learning, yajña, righteous rule—yet the heart’s clarity is needed to truly ‘see’ them.
Duties in tension
- Reverence for Ayodhya’s dharmic ideal and its institutions (brahmins, yajña, rajarsi rule)
- Personal grief and apprehension that clouds perception and threatens composure
- Ethical theme
- Rajadharma and social-dharma (varṇāśrama support)
- How it resolves
- Recognition (naming the ideal while sensing its loss)
For your practice
Smaraṇa of dharmic supports—study, charity, sacred spaces—when one feels inner ‘indistinctness’; re-centering through śravaṇa of Veda/itihāsa.
Mood and themes
- Rasa
- Karuna (compassion), with Adbhuta (wonder)
- Mood
- Blurred-familiarity, sacred-splendor, aching-uncertainty
Themes
- Dharma
- Satya
- Itihasa
- Ethics
- Grief
- Omen
- Kingship
The city’s ‘indistinct’ appearance mirrors the mind clouded by grief—avidyā veils clarity; sattvic markers (veda/yajña) are recalled as the true ‘Ayodhya’.
Brahmanical learning (veda-pāraga) as outer sign pointing to inner pursuit of the imperishable (akṣara) beyond ritual—an echo of Mundaka’s ritual/knowledge distinction.
- Rama and Sumantra
- Prince-to-charioteer/confidant observation (uneasy-reflection)
- Rama and Ayodhya
- Beloved city perceived as altered (wistful-anxiety)
- Brahmins and Ayodhya
- Guardians of Veda/ritual presence in polity (reverential)
- Rajarsis and Ayodhya
- Righteous rulers/protectors (admiring)
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.5 (Ayodhya described as prosperous, yajña-rich, brahmin-filled); Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.71.21-22 (silence and changed parks)
Vedic ideal of grāma/pura sustained by yajña and brahmans (Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa cultural horizon)
Ayodhya-kanda laments of altered Ayodhya after Daśaratha’s death (nearby sargas)
Anuṣṭup
Solemn
Madhyama (middle register)
FAQs
Ayodhya is portrayed as a dharmic polity: brahmins devoted to Veda and sacrifice, and rulers who are rājarṣis (king-sages). The verse implies that social order and prosperity are sustained when governance and learning are aligned with dharma.
Rama approaches Ayodhya and, speaking to his charioteer Sumantra, recognizes the city from afar and recalls its sacred and orderly character, even as he senses an unsettling change.
Rama’s dharmic awareness and attentiveness: he measures the health of the kingdom by signs of righteous governance, learning, and communal well-being.
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