Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 58, Shloka 7

अष्टपञ्चाशः सर्गः (Sarga 58)

Daśaratha Questions Sumantra; Messages from the Forest Threshold

Devanagari script

यं यान्तमनुयान्ति स्म पदातिरथकुञ्जराः।स वत्स्यति कथं रामो विजनं वन माश्रितः।।।।

Transliteration

yaṃ yāntam anuyānti sma padāti-ratha-kuñjarāḥ |

sa vatsyati kathaṃ rāmo vijanaṃ vanam āśritaḥ ||

Translation

Nơi nào Rāma đi qua, bộ binh, chiến xa và voi trận đều theo hầu. Nay Rāma ấy nương thân chốn rừng hoang vắng, cô tịch, làm sao Người có thể sống được?

Word by Word

• yam: whom
• yam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma; Puṃliṅga, Dvitīyā (Acc/2nd), Ekavacana; relative pronoun

• yāntam: going
• yāntam: Karma (कर्म-viśeṣaṇa)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √yā (धातु)
• Form: Kṛdanta: Śatṛ (present active participle), Puṃliṅga, Dvitīyā, Ekavacana; viśeṣaṇa of yam

• anuyānti: follow
• anuyānti: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: anu-√yā (धातु)
• Form: Laṭ-lakāra (Present), Prathama-puruṣa (3rd), Bahuvacana (Plural), Parasmaipada

• sma: used to/indeed (past habitual)
• sma: Kriyā-sahakārī (क्रिया-सहकारी/auxiliary particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sma (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; past-habitual marker with present (smā-usage)

• padāti-ratha-kuñjarāḥ: infantry, chariots, and elephants
• padāti-ratha-kuñjarāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: padāti (प्रातिपदिक) + ratha (प्रातिपदिक) + kuñjara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Samāsa: dvandva (copulative: foot-soldiers, chariots, elephants); Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Bahuvacana

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana

• vatsyati: will live
• vatsyati: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vas (धातु)
• Form: Luṭ-lakāra (Periphrastic Future), Prathama-puruṣa, Ekavacana, Parasmaipada

• katham: how
• katham: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; interrogative adverb

• rāmaḥ: Rama
• rāmaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rāma (प्रातिपदik)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana

• vijanam: desolate
• vijanam: Karma (कर्म-viśeṣaṇa)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vijana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napuṃsakaliṅga, Dvitīyā, Ekavacana; viśeṣaṇa of vanam

• vanam: forest
• vanam: Karma (कर्म; āśritaḥ takes object of resort)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napuṃsakaliṅga, Dvitīyā, Ekavacana

• āśritaḥ: having taken shelter in
• āśritaḥ: Karta (कर्ता-viśeṣaṇa)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ā-√śri (धातु)
• Form: Kṛdanta: Kta (PPP), Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; predicate/qualifier of rāmaḥ

Context

Wherever Rama went, elephants, chariots and footsoldiers followed him. How can he (now) live in the desolate forest where he has taken refuge?

Characters & Entities

• Rāma
• forest (vana)

FAQs

What is the core ethical principle (Dharma) in this verse?

It underscores the cost of dharma-bound exile: Rāma accepts hardship to uphold truth and rightful order, while the king’s grief reflects the human price of maintaining moral duty.

What is the narrative situation?

Daśaratha, hearing/remembering Rāma’s former royal grandeur, laments how Rāma can now endure a solitary forest life after departing Ayodhyā.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

Rāma’s steadfastness and self-discipline (dharma-niṣṭhā)—the capacity to live without royal comforts for the sake of truth and duty.