Chapter 62

Aranya Kanda - Book Of Forest

VERSE 1

सीताम् अपश्यन् धर्मात्मा शोक उपहत चेतनः
विललाप महाबाहू रामः कमल लोचनः

sītām apaśyan dharmātmā śoka upahata cetanaḥ
vilalāpa mahābāhū rāmaḥ kamala locanaḥ

SYNONYMS

dharmātmā: virtue-souled one | mahābāhū: long armed one | kamala locanaḥ: lotus, eyed one | rāmaḥ: Rama | sītām a paśyan: Seetha, not, being able to see | śoka upahata cetanaḥ: anguish, marred, sagacity | vilalāpa: bewailed. |

TRANSLATION

In not seeing Seetha that virtue-souled Rama's sagacity is marred by his anguish and he bewailed with his lotus-like eyes that are reddening like a pair of lotuses, raising is long arms. [3-62-1]

PURPORT

Some mms use the word kaama in the compound shoka upahata cetanaH thus it becomes kaama upahata cetana and then it means 'his sagacity is marred by desire for Seetha...' and because of the adjacency of word dharmaatmaa 'righteous one...' 'a righteous desire is no sin to desire for... hence his desire for Seetha is righteous...' Then mahaabaahuu denotes that he is wailing raising his long arms, and kamala locana is indicative of redness of lotuses, thus his eyes are reddening by his wailing.
VERSE 2

पश्यन् इव च ताम् सीताम् अपश्यन् मदन अर्दितः
उवाच राघवो वाक्यम् विलाप आश्रय दुर्वचम्

paśyan iva ca tām sītām apaśyan madana arditaḥ
uvāca rāghavo vākyam vilāpa āśraya durvacam

SYNONYMS

madana arditaḥ rāghavaḥ: by Love-god, cowed down, Raghava | tām sītām: at her, at Seetha | a paśyan: [even if] not, seeing | paśyan iva: seeing, as though | vilāpa āśraya dur vacam = vail, śeltered [pampered,] badly [inarticulately,] spīc [articulacy: because his speech took shelter of waling he is articulating inarticulately with a speech that is pampered by that wailing instinct | [ittham: this way] | uvāca vākyam: said, words [vented his heart.] |

TRANSLATION

Even if Raghava is not able to see Seetha in his presence he started talking to her in a kind of inarticulate wailing, as wailing pampered his articulacy because his speech took shelter of wailing instinct, and as he is cowed down by Love-god, and thus he started to vent out his heart in this way. [3-62-2]

PURPORT

Here the poet is starting the sixth phase among the ten phases called manmadha avasthaaH 'phases of pangs of love,' and this one is called a + rati 'non-indulgence, the ambivalence, the ambiversion...' of the romantic hero, in romantic epical poetry.
VERSE 3

त्वम् अशोकस्य शाखाभिः पुष्प प्रिय तराअ प्रिये
अवृणोषि शरीरम् ते मम शोक विवर्धिनी

tvam aśokasya śākhābhiḥ puṣpa priya tarāa priye
avṛṇoṣi śarīram te mama śoka vivardhinī

SYNONYMS

priye: oh, dear | tvam: you are | puṣpa priya tarāa: by flowers, fascinated, very much | mama śoka vi vardhinī: [that which] to me, anguish, highly, amplifying one | aśokasya śākhābhiḥ: with Ashoka tree, branches [which are in full bloom] | te śarīram: you, body | āvṛṇoṣi: veiling yourself [now.] |

TRANSLATION

"Flowers fascinate you very much, my dear, hence you veil yourself with the full bloomed branches of Ashoka tree, but that alone is amplifying my anguish because you both have presently became tormentors. [3-62-3]

PURPORT

We may recount the idea reg. Ashoka flowers expressed at 3-60-17.
VERSE 4

कदली काण्ड सदृशौ कदल्या संवृता उभौ
ऊरू पश्यामि ते देवि न असि शक्ता निगूहितुम्

kadalī kāṇḍa sadṛśau kadalyā saṃvṛtā ubhau
ūrū paśyāmi te devi na asi śaktā nigūhitum

SYNONYMS

devi: oh, lady | kadalī kāṇḍa [sknadha] sadṛśau: banana plant's, stalk [trunk,] that likens to | kadalyā samvṛtā: by banana plants [grove,] lapped in | te ubhau ūrū: your, both, thighs | paśyāmi: I caught sight of | ni gūhitum: inside, cover them in | śaktā na asi: possible, not, you are [inapt]. |

TRANSLATION

"Maybe, both your thighs liken to the stalks of banana plants, thinking so, now you have lapped them in grovy banana plants, but I can distinguish which is which, thus now I caught sight of them, oh, lady, you are inapt at least to cover them from me. [3-62-4]

VERSE 5

कर्णिकार वनम् भद्रे हसंती देवि सेवसे
अलम् ते परिहासेन मम बाधावहेन वै

karṇikāra vanam bhadre hasaṃtī devi sevase
alam te parihāsena mama bādhāvahena vai

SYNONYMS

devi: oh, lady | bhadre: oh, glorious lady | hasantī: facetiously | karṇikāra vanam sevase: Karnikaara [trees with flowers,] in boscage, you glorying in | mama bādha āvahena [ā vahena]: to me, worry, bringing, carrying [wafting] | te parihāsena alam vai: your, facetiousness, is enough, really. |

TRANSLATION

"Oh, lady, you are facetiously glorying in the boscage of fully bloomed Karnikaara trees which is really wafting worry to me, rather than the fragrance of those flowers oh, glorious lady, enough, enough is this facetiousness of yours. [3-62-5]

VERSE 6

विशेषेण आश्रमस्थाने हासो अयम् न प्रशस्यते
अवगच्छामि ते शीलम् परिहास प्रियम् प्रिये

viśeṣeṇa āśramasthāne hāso ayam na praśasyate
avagacchāmi te śīlam parihāsa priyam priye

SYNONYMS

, 7a: viśeṣeṇa: especially | āśrama sthāne: [like] hermitage, in a place | ayam: this [sort of] | hāsaḥ: raillery | na praśasyate: not, merited | priye: oh, dear | te: your | parihāsa priyam śīlam: humour, loving, disposition | avagacchāmi: I am aware of [state of mind, your humour] | viśālākśī: oh, wide-eyed one | tvam: you | āgaccha: come on | tava ayam uṭajaḥ śūnyaḥ: your, this, cottage, is empty. |

TRANSLATION

"I am aware of your humour, lady, and I know that you are jocose, but in a place like hermitage unmerited is this sort of raillery, even if it is good-natured. Hence, you come back, oh, wide-eyed one, your cottage is empty. [3-62-6, 7a]

PURPORT

Be it a cottage or a palace, minus a housewife, it cannot be called a 'home' na gR^iham gR^iha iti aahuH gR^ihiNii gR^iham ucyate | gR^iham tu gR^ihiNii hiinam araNyam sadR^ishamatam || Maha Bharata, 12-144-6; bhaaryaahiinam gR^ihasthasya shuunyam eva gR^iham bhavet | 'a house is a house when housewife is there, otherwise it amounts to a forest...' 'a house to the householder is a void, if the housewife is not there...'
VERSE 7

सु व्यक्तम् राक्षैः सीता भक्षिता वा हृता अपि वा

su vyaktam rākṣaiḥ sītā bhakṣitā vā hṛtā api vā

SYNONYMS

b, 8a| lakśmaṇa: oh, Lakshmana | sītā: Seetha | su vyaktam: very, evidently | rākśaiḥ: by demons | bhakśitā vā: gorged up, either | hṛtā api vā: abducted, perhaps, or | : she | vilapantam mām: whiny, at me | na: not | upasampraiti [upa sam pra eti: to nearby, well, easily, coming] = returning | hi: indeed. |

TRANSLATION

"Oh, Lakshmana, very evidently demons have either gorged up Seetha, or perhaps abducted her, because she is not returning to me who am whiny indeed for her. [3-62-7b, 8a]

VERSE 8

एतानि मृग यूधानि स अश्रु नेत्राणि लक्ष्मण

etāni mṛga yūdhāni sa aśru netrāṇi lakṣmaṇa

SYNONYMS

b, 9a| lakśmaṇa: oh, Lakshmana | sa aśru netrāṇi = those that are: with, with tears, eyes - with tearful eyes | etāni mṛga yūdhāni: these, deer, mobs of | me devīm: my, lady is | rajanīcaraiḥ: by nightwalkers | bhakśitām: gluttonised | śamśanti iva hi: explaining, as if, indeed. |

TRANSLATION

"Indeed these teary-eyed mobs of deer look as if to explain that nightwalkers have gluttonised my lady. [3-62-8b, 9a]

VERSE 9

हा मम आर्ये क्व याता असि हा साध्वि वर वर्णिनि

hā mama ārye kva yātā asi hā sādhvi vara varṇini

SYNONYMS

b, 9a| hā: ha | mama ārye: my, graceful one | adya: now | kva yātā asi: to where, strayed, have you | hā sādhvi: ha, chastely lady | vara varṇini: oh, best, complexioned one | : ha | me: my | devi kaikeyī: lady [queen mother, dowager,] Kaikeyi | sa kāma: with [fulfilled,] ambition | adya bhaviṣyati: now, she will be. |

TRANSLATION

"Ha! My graceful lady, to where you have strayed now... Ha! Chastely and best complexioned lady, now the ambition of my queen mother Kaikeyi will be fulfilled, as I breath my last owing to your straying... [3-62-8b, 9a]

VERSE 10

सीताया सह निर्यातो विना सीताम् उपागतः

sītāyā saha niryāto vinā sītām upāgataḥ

SYNONYMS

b, 10a| sītāyā saha nir yātaḥ = vith ṣītha, along, out, ī came: to exile | vinā sītām upa āgataḥ = vithout, ṣītha, tovards, arriving: go back to Ayodhya | śūnyam: empty | mama antaḥ puram: my, inside, palace [palace-chambers] | katham: how | nāma: [in all but] name | pravekśyāmi: enter [step in.] |

TRANSLATION

"I have come to forests with Seetha and have to go back to Ayodhya without Seetha. How, in all but name, can I step into an oblivion called my palace-chambers? [3-62-9b, 10a]

VERSE 11

निर्वीर्य इति लोको माम् निर्दयः च इति वक्ष्यति

nirvīrya iti loko mām nirdayaḥ ca iti vakṣyati

SYNONYMS

b, 11a| lokaḥ mām: populace, of me | nir vīrya iti: [a person] without, vigour, thus as | nir dayaḥ ca: without, pity, also | iti vakśyati: thus, they say [denounce] | sītā apa nayanena = in ṣītha's, avay, leading: regarding abduction | me: my | kātaratvam: timidity [ineptitude] | prakāśam hi: will be self-evident, indeed. |

TRANSLATION

"People will denounce me as a vigourless and pitiless person, and my ineptitude will indeed be self-evident, for Seetha is led away from me by some tactical being... [3-62-10b, 11a]

VERSE 12

निवृत्त वन वासः च जनकम् मिथिल अधिपम्

nivṛtta vana vāsaḥ ca janakam mithila adhipam

SYNONYMS

b, 12a| nivṛtta vana vāsaḥ ca: on completing, forest, living, also | kuśalam paripṛcchantam: wellbeing [of all,] one who asks after [me] | mithila adhipam: Mithila's, king | janakam: to Janaka | nirīkśitum: to gaze at [have the face] | katham śakśe: how, I am capable [how can I stand.] |

TRANSLATION

"When the king of Mithila Janaka asks after the wellbeing of all the three of us after the completion of forest living, how do I have the face to stand him? [3-62-11b, 12a]

VERSE 13

विदेह रजो नूनम् माम् दृष्ट्वा विरहितम् तया

videha rajo nūnam mām dṛṣṭvā virahitam tayā

SYNONYMS

b, 13a| videha rajaḥ: Videha's, king | tayā virahitam: her [Seetha,] without | mām dṛṣṭvā: me, on seeing | sutā vināśa santaptaḥ: daughter, by perishing, distraught | mohasya vaśam eṣyati: of perplexity, preponderance, goes under | nūnam: it is definite. |

TRANSLATION

"On seeing me without Seetha the king of Videha will be distraught by the perishing of his daughter, and he defiantly goes under the preponderance of perplexity... [3-62-12b, 13a]

VERSE 14

अथवा न गमिष्यामि पुरीम् भरत पालितम्

athavā na gamiṣyāmi purīm bharata pālitam

SYNONYMS

b, 14a| athavā: instead | bharata pālitam purīm: by Bharata, ruled, to city [Ayodhya] | na gamiṣyāmi: not, I prefer to go | tayā hīnaḥ: her, without | svargaḥ api: heaven, even | mama: to me | śūnya eva hi: void, thus, indeed | mataḥ: [is my] belief. |

TRANSLATION

"Instead, I prefer not to go to the city Ayodhya that is ruled by Bharata, because it must be comforting to one and all under his rulership, but not to me as Seetha will not be with me... else if, that end of my life occurs now and if I were to go to heaven, even that heaven will be a void to me without her... I believe so... [3-62-13b, 14a]

VERSE 15

तत् माम् उत्सृज्य हि वने गच्छ अयोध्या पुरीम् शुभाम्

tat mām utsṛjya hi vane gaccha ayodhyā purīm śubhām

SYNONYMS

b, 15a| tat: hence | mām vane utsṛjya: me, in forest, forsaking | śubhām ayodhyā purīm gaccha: to auspicious, city, to Ayoidhya, [you Lakshmana] you go back | aham tu: I, on my part | tām sītām vinā: her, that Seetha, without | kathamcana: in anyway | na jīveyam hi: not, I live on, isn't it. |

TRANSLATION

"Hence, Lakshmana, you go back to that auspicious city Ayodhya forsaking me in forests, because I have no existence without Seetha, isn't it! [3-62-14b, 15a]

VERSE 16

गाढम् आश्लिष्य भरतो वाच्यो मत् वचनात् त्वया

gāḍham āśliṣya bharato vācyo mat vacanāt tvayā

SYNONYMS

b, 16a| bharataḥ gāḍham āśliṣya: Bharata, [on your] tightly, hugging [him] | mat vacanāt tvayā: my, according to word, by you | vācyaḥ = is tellable: Bharata is to be said this | vasundharām pālaya iti: the earth, you reign, thus | rāmeṇa anujñātaḥ asi: by Rama, authorised, you are. |

TRANSLATION

"On tightly hugging Bharata you shall tell him these words as I have said, 'Rama authorises you to reign the earth...' [3-62-16]

VERSE 17

अंबा च मम कैकेयी सुमित्रा च त्वया विभो

aṃbā ca mama kaikeyī sumitrā ca tvayā vibho

SYNONYMS

b, 18| vibho: oh, efficacious Lakshmana | mama ambā: my, mother | kaikeyī sumitrā ca kausalyā ca: Kaikeyi, Sumitra, also, Kausalya, also | tvayā: by you | mama ajñayā: by my, order | yathā nyāyam: as per, justification [justifiably] | abhivādyā: you on revering them | ukta kāriṇā = one vho does vhatever said to him: by Rama, namely Lakshmana | bhavatā: by you | prayatnena: effortfully | : she [Kausalya] | rakśaṇīyā: is to be protected. |

TRANSLATION

"Oh, efficacious Lakshmana, on revering my mothers Kaika, Sumitra, and Kausalya justifiably you tell them my good bye, and you as the one who effectuates whatever is assigned to you, you have to effortfully protect my mother Kausalya by doing whatever she says. [3-62-17b, 18]

VERSE 19

सीतायाः च विनाशो अयम् मम च अमित्र सूदन
विस्तरेण जनन्या विनिवेद्य त्वया भवेत्

sītāyāḥ ca vināśo ayam mama ca amitra sūdana
vistareṇa jananyā vinivedya tvayā bhavet

SYNONYMS

a mitra sūdana: un, friendly, subjugator of | sītāyāḥ ca: Seetha's, also | mama ca: mine, also | ayam: this | vināśaḥ: perish | tvayā: by you | jananyā: to mothers | vistareṇa: in detail | vi nivedya: clearly, be informed | bhavet: it shall be. |

TRANSLATION

"Oh, the subjugator of unfriendly, Lakshmana... you shall clearly inform in detail about this perish of Seetha, also that of mine, to our mothers. [3-62-19]

VERSE 20

इति वाल्मीकि रामायणे आदि काव्ये अरण्य काण्डे द्वि षष्टितमः सर्गः

iti vālmīki rāmāyaṇe ādi kāvye araṇya kāṇḍe dvi ṣaṣṭitamaḥ sargaḥ

SYNONYMS

dīnaḥ: dejected one | rāghavaḥ: Raghava | vanam upagamya: forest, on nearing [searchingly he neared every corner of forest] | su keśyā = vith gūd, tresses: lady with best hair-locks | tayā vinā = her, vithout: missing from him | iti vilapati: thus, bewailing | lakśmaṇaḥ api: Lakshmana, even | bhaya vi kala mukhaḥ: by fear, without, lustre, faced [whey-faced] | vyathita manā: frantic, hearted | bhṛśam āturaḥ babhūva: highly, overwrought, he became. |

TRANSLATION

Thus Raghava, the dejected, neared every corner of the forest in his search, and bewailed because that lady with best plaits, Seetha, is not found and missing from him. Even Lakshmana became whey-faced, frantic-hearted, highly overwrought, by the fear of uncertainty looming large on them. [3-62-20]