Ayodhya Kanda · Sarga 33 of 119 · 31 verses
The City Wants to Follow
Having given their wealth to the brahmanas, the two Raghavas and Sita walk to see their father, servants carrying their weapons hung with garlands that Sita has decorated. People climb onto palaces, mansions and towers to watch, since the streets are too crowded to walk, and look at Raghava with sorrow. Seeing him on foot with his brother and Sita, they say: “He whom a great fourfold army used to follow is followed now by Lakshmana alone, with Sita. Though he knows the taste of power and is a great mine of pleasures, out of respect for dharma he will not make his father’s word false. Sita, whom even creatures of the air could not see before, people on the royal road see today. Rain, heat and cold will soon make pale Sita, used to cosmetics and red sandal. Dasharatha must be possessed by some spirit; no king would banish a beloved son, let alone one who has won the world by his conduct. Compassion, kindness, learning, character, restraint and calm adorn Raghava. The people suffer at his ruin like water creatures when the water dries in summer; the whole world suffers, as a flowering, fruiting tree when its root is cut. For he is the root of men, and the rest of us are his flowers, fruit, leaves and branches.
“Like Lakshmana, let us follow him with our wives and kin. Leaving gardens, fields and houses, sharing his joys and sorrows, let us follow righteous Rama. Let Kaikeyi take our houses: treasure dug up, courtyards ruined, wealth and grain removed, covered in dust, deserted by the gods, overrun by rats, without water or smoke, unswept, without offerings, sacrifices, mantras or prayers, broken as if by famine, full of broken pots. Let the forest where Raghava goes become a city, and the city we abandon become a forest. Let the fanged beasts leave their dens and the birds and beasts their slopes, elephants and lions leave the forests in fear of us; let them come and live in what we leave. Let Kaikeyi with her son and kin have it; we will live happily in the forest with Raghava.” Rama hears all these words and his mind does not change. He goes to his father’s palace, like a peak of Kailasa, and sees Sumantra standing downcast nearby. Unaffected, as if smiling, he waits for his father, wishing to carry out his command, and tells Sumantra: “Announce my coming to the king.”
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दत्त्वा तु सह वैदेह्या ब्राह्मणेभ्यो धनं बहु । जग्मतुः पितरं द्रष्टुं सीतया सह राघवौ ॥ १ ॥
Having given much wealth to the brahmanas together with Vaidehi, the two Raghavas went with Sita to see their father.
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ततो गृहीते प्रेष्याभ्यामशोभेतां तदायुधे । मालादामभिरासक्ते सीतया समलंकृते ॥ २ ॥
Then their weapons, carried by two servants, shone, hung with garlands and adorned by Sita.
ततः प्रासादहर्म्याणि विमानशिखराणि च । अभिरुह्य जनः श्रीमानुदासीनो व्यलोकयत् ॥ ३ ॥
Then the splendid people, climbing onto palaces, mansions and the tops of towers, looked on, downcast.
न हि रथ्याः सुशक्यन्ते गन्तुं बहुजनाकुलाः । आरुह्य तस्मात् प्रासादाद् दीनाः पश्यन्ति राघवम् ॥ ४ ॥
For the streets, crowded with many people, could not easily be walked; so, climbing onto the palaces, they looked at Raghava, wretched.
पदातिं सानुजं दृष्ट्वा ससीतं च जनास्तदा । ऊचुर्बहुजना वाचः शोकोपहतचेतसः ॥ ५ ॥
Seeing him on foot with his younger brother and with Sita, many people, their minds struck with grief, spoke words:
यं यान्तमनुयाति स्म चतुरङ्गबलं महत् । तमेकं सीतया सार्धमनुयाति स्म लक्ष्मणः ॥ ६ ॥
“He whom a great fourfold army used to follow as he went: him alone, with Sita, Lakshmana follows.
ऐश्वर्यस्य रसज्ञः सन् कामानां चाकरो महान् । नेच्छत्येवानृतं कर्तुं वचनं धर्मगौरवात् ॥ ७ ॥
“Though he knows the taste of sovereignty and is a great mine of pleasures, he will not make his word false, out of respect for dharma.
या न शक्या पुरा द्रष्टुं भूतैराकाशगैरपि । तामद्य सीतां पश्यन्ति राजमार्गगता जनाः ॥ ८ ॥
“Sita, whom not even creatures moving in the sky could see before, people standing on the royal road see today.
अङ्गरागोचितां सीतां रक्तचन्दनसेविनीम् । वर्षमुष्णं च शीतं च नेष्यत्याशु विवर्णताम् ॥ ९ ॥
“Rain, heat and cold will soon make Sita pale, she who is used to cosmetics and the use of red sandal.
अद्य नूनं दशरथः सत्त्वमाविश्य भाषते । नहि राजा प्रियं पुत्रं विवासयितुमर्हति ॥ १० ॥
“Surely Dasharatha speaks today possessed by some spirit; a king should not banish his beloved son.
निर्गुणस्यापि पुत्रस्य कथं स्याद् विनिवासनम् । किं पुनर्यस्य लोकोऽयं जितो वृत्तेन केवलम् ॥ ११ ॥
“How could even a son without virtues be banished, let alone one by whom this world has been won by conduct alone?
आनृशंस्यमनुक्रोशः श्रुतं शीलं दमः शमः । राघवं शोभयन्त्येते षड्गुणाः पुरुषर्षभम् ॥ १२ ॥
“Kindness, compassion, learning, character, restraint and calm: these six virtues adorn Raghava, bull among men.
तस्मात् तस्योपघातेन प्रजाः परमपीडिताः । औदकानीव सत्त्वानि ग्रीष्मे सलिलसंक्षयात् ॥ १३ ॥
“So by harm to him the people are deeply pained, like water creatures in summer when the water dries up.
पीडया पीडितं सर्वं जगदस्य जगत्पतेः । मूलस्येवोपघातेन वृक्षः पुष्पफलोपगः ॥ १४ ॥
“By the affliction of this lord of the world, the whole world is afflicted, as a tree with flowers and fruit when its root is harmed.
मूलं ह्येष मनुष्याणां धर्मसारो महाद्युतिः । पुष्पं फलं च पत्रं च शाखाश्चास्येतरे जनाः ॥ १५ ॥
“For this radiant one, whose essence is dharma, is the root of men; the other people are his flowers, fruit, leaves and branches.
ते लक्ष्मण इव क्षिप्रं सपत्न्यः सहबान्धवाः । गच्छन्तमनुगच्छामो येन गच्छति राघवः ॥ १६ ॥
“Like Lakshmana, let us quickly follow with our wives and kin as he goes, by the way Raghava goes.
उद्यानानि परित्यज्य क्षेत्राणि च गृहाणि च । एकदुःखसुखा राममनुगच्छाम धार्मिकम् ॥ १७ ॥
“Leaving gardens, fields and houses, sharing one sorrow and one joy, let us follow righteous Rama.
समुद्धृतनिधानानि परिध्वस्ताजिराणि च । उपात्तधनधान्यानि हृतसाराणि सर्वशः ॥ १८ ॥
रजसाभ्यवकीर्णानि परित्यक्तानि दैवतैः । मूषकैः परिधावद्भिरुद्बिलैरावृतानि च ॥ १९ ॥
अपेतोदकधूमानि हीनसम्मार्जनानि च । प्रणष्टबलिकर्मेज्यामन्त्रहोमजपानि च ॥ २० ॥
दुष्कालेनेव भग्नानि भिन्नभाजनवन्ति च । अस्मत्त्यक्तानि कैकेयी वेश्मानि प्रतिपद्यताम् ॥ २१ ॥
“Their treasures dug up, their courtyards ruined, their wealth and grain taken, their best things removed in every way, covered with dust, abandoned by the gods, overrun with scurrying rats and their holes, without water or smoke, unswept, with offerings, worship, mantras, oblations and prayers gone, broken as if by famine, full of broken vessels: let Kaikeyi take the houses we abandon.
वनं नगरमेवास्तु येन गच्छति राघवः । अस्माभिश्च परित्यक्तं पुरं सम्पद्यतां वनम् ॥ २२ ॥
“Let the forest where Raghava goes become the city, and let the city we abandon become a forest.
बिलानि दंष्ट्रिणः सर्वे सानूनि मृगपक्षिणः । त्यजन्त्वस्मद्भयाद्भीता गजाः सिंहा वनान्यपि ॥ २३ ॥
“Let all the fanged beasts leave their dens, and beasts and birds the mountain slopes, and elephants and lions the forests too, terrified for fear of us.
अस्मत्त्यक्तं प्रपद्यन्तु सेव्यमानं त्यजन्तु च । तृणमांसफलादानां देशं व्यालमृगद्विजम् ॥ २४ ॥
“Let them come into what we abandon and abandon what they have lived in: the land of grass-eaters, meat-eaters and fruit-eaters, of beasts of prey, deer and birds.
प्रपद्यतां हि कैकेयी सपुत्रा सह बान्धवैः । राघवेण वयं सर्वे वने वत्स्याम निर्वृताः ॥ २५ ॥
“Let Kaikeyi with her son and kin take it; we shall all live happily in the forest with Raghava.”
इत्येवं विविधा वाचो नानाजनसमीरिताः । शुश्राव राघवः श्रुत्वा न विचक्रेऽस्य मानसम् ॥ २६ ॥
Raghava heard such various words spoken by many people; having heard them, his mind did not change.
स तु वेश्म पुनर्मातुः कैलासशिखरप्रभम् । अभिचक्राम धर्मात्मा मत्तमातङ्गविक्रमः ॥ २७ ॥
The righteous one, with the gait of a rutting elephant, went again to the house of his father (and of his mother Kaikeyi), shining like a peak of Kailasa.
विनीतवीरपुरुषं प्रविश्य तु नृपालयम् । ददर्शावस्थितं दीनं सुमन्त्रमविदूरतः ॥ २८ ॥
Entering the royal palace, with its disciplined heroic guards, he saw Sumantra standing downcast nearby.
प्रतीक्षमाणोऽभिजनं तदार्त- मनार्तरूपः प्रहसन्निवाथ । जगाम रामः पितरं दिदृक्षुः पितुर्निदेशं विधिवच्चिकीर्षुः ॥ २९ ॥
Waiting for his afflicted kinsman, himself unafflicted in look, as if smiling, Rama went, wishing to see his father and to carry out his father’s command duly.
तत्पूर्वमैक्ष्वाकसुतो महात्मा रामो गमिष्यन् नृपमार्तरूपम् । व्यतिष्ठत प्रेक्ष्य तदा सुमन्त्रं पितुर्महात्मा प्रतिहारणार्थम् ॥ ३० ॥
First, the great-souled Ikshvaku son Rama, about to go to the afflicted king, stopped on seeing Sumantra, to have himself announced to his father.
पितुर्निदेशेन तु धर्मवत्सलो वनप्रवेशे कृतबुद्धिनिश्चयः । स राघवः प्रेक्ष्य सुमन्त्रमब्रवी- न्निवेदयस्वागमनं नृपाय मे ॥ ३१ ॥
Devoted to dharma, firmly resolved to enter the forest by his father’s command, Raghava, seeing Sumantra, said: “Announce my coming to the king.”