Valmiki Ramayana 2.88.4: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 88, Shloka 4
रामशय्यादर्शनम् · Bharata Beholds Rama’s Forest Bed
अजिनोत्तरसंस्तीर्णे वरास्तरणसंचये ।
शयित्वा पुरुषव्याघ्रः कथं शेते महीतले ॥४॥
ajinottarasaṃstīrṇe varāstaraṇasaṃcaye |
śayitvā puruṣavyāghraḥ kathaṃ śete mahītale ||4||
وہ مردوں میں شیر—جو کبھی ہرن کی کھال سے ڈھکے، عمدہ بستر اور بہترین بچھونوں پر سویا کرتا تھا—اب بھلا کیسے ننگی زمین پر لیٹ سکتا ہے؟
How could Rama, the best among men used to a bed made of a pile of excellent spreads and overspread with deer skin, sleep on the bare ground?
FAQs
The verse highlights dharma as a standard of just treatment: virtue and rightful status should not be violated by wrongful suffering. Bharata’s question condemns the moral disorder that has forced Rama into hardship.
Bharata is imagining Rama’s changed life in exile—moving from palace comfort to sleeping on the ground—intensifying his remorse and urgency.
Bharata’s loyalty and protective love for Rama, expressed through grief at Rama’s undeserved austerity.
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