Valmiki Ramayana 2.21.3: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 21, Shloka 3
अयोध्याकाण्डे एकविंशः सर्गः · Lakṣmaṇa’s militant counsel and Rāma’s dharma
based persuasion of Kausalyā
Spoken by Kausalya to RamaSetting: Ayodhya
विपरीतश्च वृद्धश्च विषयैश्च प्रधर्षितः ।
नृपः किमिव न ब्रूयाच्चोद्यमानस्समन्मथः ॥३॥
viparītaś ca vṛddhaś ca viṣayaiś ca pradharṣitaḥ |
nṛpaḥ kim iva na brūyāt codyamānaḥ sa-manmathaḥ ||3||
心智颠倒，年迈，又被诸欲乐所侵逼——为爱欲所驱、又受人怂恿——国王还有什么话说不出口呢？
Sandhi Notes
- विपरीतश्च = विपरीतः + च
- वृद्धश्च = वृद्धः + च
- विषयैश्च = विषयैः + च
- ब्रूयाच्चोद्यमानः = ब्रूयात् + चोद्यमानः
- चोद्यमानस्समन्मथः = चोद्यमानः + समन्मथः
The king has a perverse nature. He is aged. He is overpowered by passions. He is under the spell of carnal pleasures and is incited (by Kaikeyi). Such a man can speak anything.
The teaching
When desire and pressure distort discernment, even a king may utter what should not be said—hence vigilance over senses is dharma’s guard.
Duties in tension
- King’s duty of impartial rāja-dharma vs personal attachment and boons to Kaikeyī
- Truth/boon-keeping vs protection of rightful heir and public welfare
- Ethical theme
- Rāja-dharma under kāma/viṣaya pressure; ethics of agency and temptation
- How it resolves
- Unresolved here (diagnosis of moral-psychological fall)
For your practice
Supports vairāgya practice: observe how viṣaya and kāma overturn judgment; cultivate restraint and clarity.
Mood and themes
- Rasa
- Karuna (compassion), with Bhayanaka (fear)
- Mood
- Disillusioned, critical, tragic
Themes
- Dharma
- Ethics
- Critique of Desire
- Royal Duty
- Adharma (impulse-driven speech)
When buddhi is eclipsed by kāma, the self acts under guṇa-pressure; this is the classic fall of viveka into rajas/tamas.
The chariot allegory (Kaṭha) is suggested: senses and desire can overpower the ruler (mind/buddhi), leading to wrong speech/action.
- Dasharatha and Kaikeyi
- Husband influenced/pressed by wife (coerced)
- Dasharatha and Rama
- Father’s harmful decree toward son (tragic)
Mahābhārata: teachings on kāma clouding judgment (e.g., Vidura-nīti themes); Bhagavad Gītā 3.36-43 (kāma as enemy of wisdom)
Kāma/Manmatha as a force that agitates rulers and sages alike (Purāṇic motif)
Ayodhyākāṇḍa: Daśaratha’s helplessness under boons and Kaikeyī’s insistence; repeated portrayal of his grief and loss of agency
Anuṣṭup (śloka)
Narrative-critical
Madhyama with sharper accent on ‘viparītaś ca’ and ‘samānmathaḥ’
FAQs
The verse warns that when a ruler is dominated by desire and external prompting, speech and decisions can deviate from dharma; self-mastery is essential for righteous governance.
Kausalyā characterizes the king’s compromised state—old age, passion, and Kaikeyī’s influence—to explain how such troubling commands could arise.
The implied virtue is restraint (dama) and clarity of judgment; its absence is shown as the cause of dharmic collapse in decision-making.
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