Ramayana — Bala Kanda, Sarga 18, Shloka 28
पुत्रजन्मोत्सवः — Birth of the Princes and Viśvāmitra’s Arrival
Bālakāṇḍa 18
सर्वप्रियकरस्तस्य रामस्यापि शरीरत:।।।।लक्ष्मणो लक्ष्मिसम्पन्नो बहि:प्राण इवापर:।
sarvapriyakaraḥ tasya rāmasyāpi śarīrataḥ ||
lakṣmaṇo lakṣmisaṁpanno bahiḥprāṇa ivāparaḥ ||
Lakṣmaṇa—đầy đủ cát tường phúc lộc—làm mọi điều khiến Rāma hoan hỷ, còn hơn cả đối với chính thân mình; như một hơi thở sinh mệnh khác ở ngoài thân.
Lakshmana, possessed of fortune, was the dearest to his brother than his own body. As though he was his life without.
FAQs
Selfless service: dharma can be expressed as placing another’s righteous good above one’s own comfort, without envy or calculation.
The narrator intensifies the description of Lakṣmaṇa’s closeness to Rāma, using the metaphor of an ‘outer life-breath’.
Self-effacing devotion and protective companionship.