Valmiki Ramayana - Chapter 63

Chapter 63

Aranya Kanda - Book Of Forest

स राज पुत्र प्रिया विहीनः
शोकेन मोहेन च पीड्यमानः
विषादयन् भ्रातरम् आर्त रूपो
भूयो
विषादम्प्रविवेश तीव्रम्

sa rāja putra priyā vihīnaḥ
śokena mohena ca pīḍyamānaḥ
viṣādayan bhrātaram ārta rūpo
bhūyo
viṣādampraviveśa tīvram

SYNONYMS

TRANSLATION

That prince Rama whom agony and anguish are distressing has become anxious in his mien, and he again drifted into a dire desperation while despairing his brother Lakshmana. [3-63-1]

VERSE 2

स लक्ष्मणम् शोक वश अभिपन्नम्
शोके निमग्नो विपुले तु रामः
उवाच वाक्यम् व्यसनानुरूपम्
उष्णम् विनिःश्वस्य रुदन् स शोकम्

sa lakṣmaṇam śoka vaśa abhipannam
śoke nimagno vipule tu rāmaḥ
uvāca vākyam vyasanānurūpam
uṣṇam viniḥśvasya rudan sa śokam

SYNONYMS

vipule śoke nimagnaḥ tu: in chasmal, sorrow, sunken, but | saḥ rāmaḥ: he, Rama | sa śokam rudan: with, sorrow, wailing | śoka vaśa abhipannam = sorrov, control, obtained: one who has gone under the control of sorrow | lakśmaṇam: to Lakshmana | uṣṇam vi niḥśvasya: scorchingly, severely, suspiring | vyasana anurūpam: to [Rama's] sensitivity, seemly | vākyam uvāca: sentence, spoke. |

TRANSLATION

Rama who is sunken in a chasmal sorrow spoke this sentence while wailing sorrowfully, suspiring severely and scorchingly, and which sentence is seemly to his sensitivity, to Lakshmana who is already under the sway of sorrow. [3-63-2]

VERSE 3

न मत् विधो दुष्कृत कर्म कारी
मन्ये द्वितीयो अस्ति वसुंधरायाम्
शोक अनुशोको हि परंपराया
माम् एति भिन्दन् हृदयम् मनः च

na mat vidho duṣkṛta karma kārī
manye dvitīyo asti vasuṃdharāyām
śoka anuśoko hi paraṃparāyā
mām eti bhindan hṛdayam manaḥ ca

SYNONYMS

TRANSLATION

"I am second to none among the blameworthy wrongdoers on this earth, thus I deem, and indeed woe followed by woe are getting at me in seriation to burst my heart and mind... [3-63-3]

VERSE 4

पूर्वम् मया नूनम् अभीप्सितानि
पापानि कर्माणि असत्कृत् कृतानि
तत्र अयम् अद्य पतितो विपाको
दुःखेन दुःखम् यद् अहम् विशामि

pūrvam mayā nūnam abhīpsitāni
pāpāni karmāṇi asatkṛt kṛtāni
tatra ayam adya patito vipāko
duḥkhena duḥkham yad aham viśāmi

SYNONYMS

TRANSLATION

"I might have definitely, habitually, and desirably committed damnable deeds in my previous births, and now the result of those impious deeds is very much ripened and has fallen on me, whereby I am entering misery after misery... [3-63-4]

PURPORT

As with the accrual of merit by good deeds, sin also accrues with impious or sinful acts anena janmaantara kR^ita paapa anuruupam phalam bhavati iti arthaH - strii parvaaNi - nuunam vyapakR^itam puurveShu janmaasu | yena maam duHkhabhaageShu dhaataa karmasu yuktkavaan - mahaa bhaarata - dk and this ripens and bechances at a later time in the shape of misfortune.

VERSE 5

राज्य प्रणाशः स्व जनैः वियोगः
पितुर् विनाशो जननी वियोगः
सर्वानि मे लक्ष्मण शोक वेगम्
आपूरयन्ति प्रविचिन्तितानि

rājya praṇāśaḥ sva janaiḥ viyogaḥ
pitur vināśo jananī viyogaḥ
sarvāni me lakṣmaṇa śoka vegam
āpūrayanti pravicintitāni

SYNONYMS

TRANSLATION

"I am deprived of the kingdom, departed from my own people, mainly Seetha, my father departed and I am detached from my mother, and Lakshmana, when all these setbacks are very deeply thought over they are replenishing the haste of my agony... [3-63-5]

VERSE 6

सर्वम् तु दुःखम् मम लक्ष्मण इदम्
शान्तम् शरीरे वनम् एत्य क्लेशम्
सीता वियोगात् पुनर् अपि
उदीर्णम्
काष्टैः इव अग्निः सहसा प्रदीप्तः

sarvam tu duḥkham mama lakṣmaṇa idam
śāntam śarīre vanam etya kleśam
sītā viyogāt punar api
udīrṇam
kāṣṭaiḥ iva agniḥ sahasā pradīptaḥ

SYNONYMS

lakśmaṇa: oh, Lakshmana | idam sarvam duḥkham: this, all, sadness | [śūnyam] vanam etya: [uninhibited,] to forest, on coming | śarīre śāntam: physically, [there is some] peace | sītā viyogāt: by Seetha's, dissociation | kāṣṭaiḥ sahasā pradīptaḥ agniḥ iva: by firewood [fuel,] in a flash, flaring up, fire, as with | puna api kleśam udīrṇam: again, even, misery, is upshot. |

TRANSLATION

"All this sadness of mine has silenced physically and there is some peace on coming to these desolate forests, in association of Seetha, but with the dissociation of Seetha misery is again upshot, as with fire which flares up in a flash when fuel is added... [3-63-6]

VERSE 7

सा नूनम् आर्या मम राक्षसेन हि
अभ्याहृता खम् समुपेत्य भीरुः
अपस्वरम् सु स्वर विप्रलापा
भयेन विक्रन्दितवति अभीक्ष्णम्

sā nūnam āryā mama rākṣasena hi
abhyāhṛtā kham samupetya bhīruḥ
apasvaram su svara vipralāpā
bhayena vikranditavati abhīkṣṇam

SYNONYMS

TRANSLATION

"My noblewoman might be abducted by a demon, and on reaching the sky that lady who converses with a sweet voice might have wept a lot fearfully, and it is definite that she must have shouted a lot, untunefully... [3-63-7]

VERSE 8

तौ लोहितस्य प्रिय दर्शनस्य
सदा उचितौ उत्तम चंदनस्य
वृत्तौ स्तनौ शोणित पंक दिग्धौ
नूनम् प्रियाया मम न अभिभात

tau lohitasya priya darśanasya
sadā ucitau uttama caṃdanasya
vṛttau stanau śoṇita paṃka digdhau
nūnam priyāyā mama na abhibhāta

SYNONYMS

TRANSLATION

"Those two roundish bosoms of my ladylove which always deserved the application of pleasantly looking red-sandalwood's paste might definitely be unshiny, as they might be bedaubed with muddy blood when they are extricated from her body for devouring. [3-63-8]

VERSE 9

तत् श्लक्ष्ण सु व्यक्त मृदु प्रलापम्
तस्या मुखम् कुंचित केश भारम्
रक्षो वशम् नूनम् उपगताया
न भ्राजते राहु मुखे यथा इंदुः

tat ślakṣṇa su vyakta mṛdu pralāpam
tasyā mukham kuṃcita keśa bhāram
rakṣo vaśam nūnam upagatāyā
na bhrājate rāhu mukhe yathā iṃduḥ

SYNONYMS

TRANSLATION

"She has a sweet, softish, and very clear talkativeness on her lips. That visage with such lips is crowned with a hairdo with hair lumped together and plaited, such as her visage is, it must have become unshiny on her going into the repression of demon, as with an unshiny moon when repressed in the mouth of eclipsing planet Raahu, it is definite... [3-63-9]

VERSE 10

ताम् हार पाशस्य सदा उचित अंतम्
ग्रीवाम् प्रियाया मम सु व्रताया
रक्षांसि नूनम् परिपीतवन्ति
शून्ये हि भित्वा रुधिर अशनानि

tām hāra pāśasya sadā ucita aṃtam
grīvām priyāyā mama su vratāyā
rakṣāṃsi nūnam paripītavanti
śūnye hi bhitvā rudhira aśanāni

SYNONYMS

TRANSLATION

"The contours of the neck of that strait-laced ladylove of mine are always worthy for necklaces and chain-wears. The bloodthirsty demons would have indeed mangled that neck in a secluded place and they might have drunk her blood, it is definite... [3-63-10]

VERSE 11

मया विहीना विजने वने या
रक्षोभिः आहृत्य विकृष्यमाणा
नूनम् विनादम् कुररि इव दीना
सा
मुक्तवती आयत कान्त नेत्रा

mayā vihīnā vijane vane yā
rakṣobhiḥ āhṛtya vikṛṣyamāṇā
nūnam vinādam kurari iva dīnā
sā
muktavatī āyata kānta netrā

SYNONYMS

TRANSLATION

"While I was away from her in this uninhibited forest demons would have forcibly hauled her up when they are abducting that lady with broad-bright eyes, and she would have discordantly shrieked out like a piteous she-dove, it is definite... [3-63-11]

VERSE 12

अस्मिन् मया सार्थम् उदार शीला
शिला तले पूर्वम् उपोपविष्टा
कान्त स्मिता लक्ष्मण जात हासा
त्वाम् आह सीता बहु वाक्य जातम्

asmin mayā sārtham udāra śīlā
śilā tale pūrvam upopaviṣṭā
kānta smitā lakṣmaṇa jāta hāsā
tvām āha sītā bahu vākya jātam

SYNONYMS

TRANSLATION

"Sitting very close to me on this stone's surface, oh, Lakshmana, she that well-mannered Seetha with bright smiles was speaking to you verbosely with all smiles... [3-63-12]

PURPORT

He is recollecting his romantic dalliances with Seetha at the riverside of Godavari. asmin 'in here, hereabouts which now is devoid of Seetha, she used to playfully tease me in our swimming sports in this River Godavari...' maya saartham where maya sa artham 'I thought I was winning... but, she who is used to have an upper hand... hence, then I became secondary...' udaara shiilaa 'well-mannered' Seetha... for she did not bother me for such a frolicking when we were in Ayodhya, and she with all her mannerliness maintained a distance from me, as there were her father-in-law, mother-in-laws in Ayodhya, but here only two of us who are with ourselves, and we rejoiced freely...' shilaa tale upa upa viSTaa 'on the surface of any stone wherever I wanted to gain a foothold after straining myself in swim-games, she used to reach and sit on each and every acclivitous stone, prior to my reaching it, and she used to spatter water on my face, to continue more swimming... but, I was really fatigued...' then she is one jaata haasaa 'in whom laughter took birth...she used to burst out peals of laughter... that declare me as a defeated one...' And then tvaam bahu vaakya jaata aaha 'she used talk to you a lot, with lots of words, as you are in the habit of always extolling me, and she was saying to you... 'you two are mightier than the mighty, but I am a woman, you two are males and can hunt the cruellest animals, but I am woman, a rabbit in the kitchen... but, see how I defeated your almighty brother...' and the like...' 'A very interesting and linguistically important case of a prepositional verb is provided by the verses [that contain] upopaviSTa... upa vish... originally must have meant 'to sit near'. In course of time, the idea of closeness or proximity was lost and it came to be used in the sense of sitting only. Now when the idea of nearness or proximity had to be expressed one more upa was prefixed to it. Thus, we see how tautological tendencies were influencing Sanskrit in the very hoary past. The Ramayana upopaviSTa has its parallel n Hindi paas baiThnaa [where] baiThnaa is upa veshana which itself means to sit near upa= paas . But still paas is used with baiThnaa...' The Ramayana, A Linguistic Study, Pt. Satya Vrat. And to supplement Panditji's above saying, even in English this is evident and Oxford in saying meaning for proximity, says 'sat in close proximity to them' where 'proximity' itself is one upa and 'close' is another upa... Thus tautology is same everywhere.

VERSE 13

गोदावरी इयाम् सरिताम् वरिष्टा
प्रिया प्रियाया मम नित्य कालम्
अपि अत्र गच्छेत् इति चिंतयामि
न एकाकिनी याति हि सा कदाचित्

godāvarī iyām saritām variṣṭā
priyā priyāyā mama nitya kālam
api atra gacchet iti ciṃtayāmi
na ekākinī yāti hi sā kadācit

SYNONYMS

TRANSLATION

"Among rivers this Godavari is the best and it is an all the time cherished river to my ladylove, and I think she would have gone thereunto. But, at anytime she did not go there, singly... [3-63-13]

VERSE 14

पद्म आनना पद्म पलाश नेत्रा
पद्मानि वा आनेतुम् अभिप्रयाता
तत् अपि अयुक्तम् न हि सा कद्दचित्
मया विना गच्छति पंकजानि

padma ānanā padma palāśa netrā
padmāni vā ānetum abhiprayātā
tat api ayuktam na hi sā kaddacit
mayā vinā gacchati paṃkajāni

SYNONYMS

TRANSLATION

"Or, that lotus-faced, lotus-petal eyed Seetha has gone straight to bring lotuses! Nay, that idea itself is incongruous, for she never goes to get lotuses, indeed without me... [3-63-14]

VERSE 15

कामम् तु इदम् पुष्पित वृक्ष सण्डम्
नाना विधैः पक्षि गणैः उपेतम्
वनम् प्रयाता नु तत् अपि
अयुक्तम्
एकाकिनी सा अति बिभेति भीरुः

kāmam tu idam puṣpita vṛkṣa saṇḍam
nānā vidhaiḥ pakṣi gaṇaiḥ upetam
vanam prayātā nu tat api
ayuktam
ekākinī sā ati bibheti bhīruḥ

SYNONYMS

kāmam tu: voluntarily, but | puṣpita vṛkśa saṇḍam: flowered, trees, stand of | nānā vidhaiḥ pakśi gaṇaiḥ upetam: divers, kinds of, birds, flights, having | idam vanam prayātā nu: this, thicket, went to, really | tat api a yuktam: that, even, not, congruent | bhīruḥ: [as a] timid one | sā ekākinī ati bibheti = śe, in solitude, muc, scared: to go alone. |

TRANSLATION

"But has she really gone to this stand of thicket which is with flowered trees and with birds of divers kind! Nay, that thought also is incongruent, because she as a timid one is much scared of solitude... [3-63-15]

VERSE 16

आदित्य भो लोक क्रृत अकृत ज्ञः
लोकस्य सत्य अनृत कर्म साक्षिन्
मम प्रिया सा क्व गता हृता
वा
शंसव मे शोक हतस्य सर्वम्

āditya bho loka krṛta akṛta jñaḥ
lokasya satya anṛta karma sākṣin
mama priyā sā kva gatā hṛtā
vā
śaṃsava me śoka hatasya sarvam

SYNONYMS

TRANSLATION

"Oh, Sun, you are the knower of performed and unperformed deeds in the world, a wittnesser of good and bad deeds in the world, tell me, who am woefully writhing, to where my ladylove strolled, or is she stolen... [3-63-16]

VERSE 17

लोकेषु सर्वेषु न नास्ति किंचित्
यत् ते न नित्यम् विदितम् भवेत् तत्
शंसस्व वयोः कुल शालिनीम्
ताम्
मृता हृता वा पथि वर्तते वा

lokeṣu sarveṣu na nāsti kiṃcit
yat te na nityam viditam bhavet tat
śaṃsasva vayoḥ kula śālinīm
tām
mṛtā hṛtā vā pathi vartate vā

SYNONYMS

TRANSLATION

"Oh, Air, whatsoever is there in the world, wheresoever it might be, or whensoever it might have happened, and whichsoever it might be, and whencesoever it might exist, that cannot possibly be unknown to you. Hence, tell me of the lady from noble heritage... is she stolen, or slain, or strayed her steps..." Thus Rama begged of the Eternals for locating Seetha. [3-63-17]

VERSE 18

इति इव तम् शोक विधेय देहम्
रामम् विसंज्ञम् विलपंतम् एव
उवाच सौमित्रिःअदीन सत्त्वः
न्याये स्थितः काल युतम् च वाक्यम्

iti iva tam śoka vidheya deham
rāmam visaṃjñam vilapaṃtam eva
uvāca saumitriḥadīna sattvaḥ
nyāye sthitaḥ kāla yutam ca vākyam

SYNONYMS

TRANSLATION

To such a Rama whose physique is routed by his anguish in this way and who is insensately bewailing in that way, Soumitri whose courage is un-dispirited gave a justifiable and timely suggestion. [3-63-18]

VERSE 19

शोकम् विमुंच आर्य धृतिम् भजस्व
सह उत्साहता च अस्तु विमार्गणे अस्याः
उत्साहवन्तो हि नरा
न लोके
सीदन्ति कर्मसु अति दुष्करेषु

śokam vimuṃca ārya dhṛtim bhajasva
saha utsāhatā ca astu vimārgaṇe asyāḥ
utsāhavanto hi narā
na loke
sīdanti karmasu ati duṣkareṣu

SYNONYMS

TRANSLATION

"Oh, noble brother, banish that anguish and brace yourself with fortitude, and let you be with spiritedness in her searching... indeed, there is no backsliding for spirited men in their enterprises in this world, even though the enterprises are highly impracticable..." [3-63-19]

PURPORT

Lack of fortitude and spiritedness will sink anyone in a chasmal self-centred subjective grief. anena dhairya utsaahau shokam apanudya kaarya saadhakau iti suucitam - tathaa ca bhaatate - droNa parvaaNi - abhimanyu vadhe dharma putram prati vyaasaH - shocato hi mahaa raaja hi adhame abhivartate | tasmaat shokam parityajya shreyase prayated budhaH | praharSham abhimaanam ca cintayet | evam GYaatvaa sthiro bhuutvaa jahi ariin dhairyam aapnuhi | dk Thus Vyaasa advises Dharmaraja to have fortitude and courage when he was sinking under the grief for the merciless killing of lonesome Abhimanyu, the son of Arjuna, in Maha Bharata war.

VERSE 20

इति वाल्मीकि रामायणे आदि काव्ये अरण्य काण्डे त्रि षष्टितमः सर्गः

iti vālmīki rāmāyaṇe ādi kāvye araṇya kāṇḍe tri ṣaṣṭitamaḥ sargaḥ

SYNONYMS

ārtaḥ: who is anguished | raghu vamśa vardhanaḥ: Raghu's, lineage, enhancer of [Rama] | iti iva bruvantam: thus, in this way, about him who is speaking so | udagra pauruṣam: one with towering, bravery | , saumitrim: of Soumitri | na cintayāmāsa: not, gave heed to | dhṛtim vimuktavān: fortitude, he who castaway | punaḥ ca: again, also | mahat duḥkham abhyupāgamat: great [inexplicable,] anguish, he encountered with. |

TRANSLATION

When Soumitri of towering bravery is speaking this way, Rama, the enhancer of Raghu's lineage, gave no heed to it, and since he castaway his fortitude he again encountered an inexplicable anguish. [3-63-20]