Ramayana — Sundara Kanda, Sarga 56, Shloka 10

षट्पञ्चाशः सर्गः — वैदेही-आश्वासनम् तथा अरिष्टारोहणम्

Consoling Sita and Ascending Mount Arishta

Devanagari script

तुङ्गपद्मकजुष्टाभिर्नीलाभिर्वनराजिभिः।सोत्तरीयमिवाम्भोदैः शृंगान्तरविलम्बिभिः।।।।

Transliteration

tuṅgapadmakajuṣṭābhir nīlābhir vanarājibhiḥ | sottarīyam ivāmbhodaiḥ śṛṅgāntaravilambibhiḥ ||

Translation

Với những dải rừng thẫm xanh, dày đặc cây padmaka cao vút, và những áng mây mưa lơ lửng giữa các đỉnh, núi Ariṣṭa hiện ra như được khoác một tấm thượng y.

Word by Word

• tuṅga: tall, lofty
• tuṅga: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tuṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: (in compound) stem-form; qualifier of padmaka

• padmaka: padmaka tree
• padmaka: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: padmaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, (in compound) stem-form; a kind of tree

• juṣṭābhiḥ: adorned with, filled with
• juṣṭābhiḥ: Karaṇa (करण/instrumental description)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: juṣṭa (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √juṣ (धातु) क्त)
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Plural; agrees with vanarājibhiḥ; ‘frequented/adorned’

• nīlābhiḥ: dark, blue-black
• nīlābhiḥ: Karaṇa (करण/instrumental description)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nīla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Plural; agrees with vanarājibhiḥ

• vanarājibhiḥ: with forest-ranges
• vanarājibhiḥ: Karaṇa (करण/instrumental description)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vana-rāji (प्रातिपदिक; vana + rāji)
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Plural; ‘rows/tracts of forest’

• sa: with
• sa: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sa (उपसर्ग/सह-भाव)
• Form: Avyaya-like prefix ‘with’ used in compound sa-uttarīyam

• uttarīyam: upper garment
• uttarīyam: Upamāna-dharma (उपमान-धर्म; in simile)
• Type: Noun
• Root: uttarīya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; garment worn over/upper cloth

• iva: as if, like
• iva: Upamā-dyotaka (उपमा-द्योतक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iva (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), simile particle (उपमावाचक)

• ambhodaiḥ: by clouds
• ambhodaiḥ: Karaṇa (करण/instrumental description)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ambhoda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Plural

• śṛṅga: peak
• śṛṅga: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śṛṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, (in compound) stem-form

• antara: interval, space between
• antara: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: antara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, (in compound) stem-form; ‘between’

• vilambibhiḥ: hanging down
• vilambibhiḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vilambin (प्रातिपदिक; vi-√lamb (धातु) णिनि)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Plural; agrees with ambhodaiḥ; ‘hanging down’

Context

Mount Arishta was full of blue forest-ranges with choicest tall padmaka trees. With clouds hanging on the slopes of mountain peaks, it appeared as though the mountain was wrapped in an upper garment.

Characters & Entities

• clouds (ambhoda)

FAQs

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

Indirectly, the verse supports dharmic storytelling by using nature imagery to steady the narrative mood—suggesting order, harmony, and the world’s grandeur as a backdrop to righteous effort.

What is the narrative situation?

The poet describes Mount Ariṣṭa in vivid imagery as part of the scene-setting in Sundarakāṇḍa.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

Not character-centered; the emphasis is on poetic perception (kāvya-dṛṣṭi) that enriches the epic’s moral-narrative world.