Ramayana, Book II, Canto 13: Dasaratha’s Distressअयोध्याकाण्डम्

Ralph T. H. Griffith’s English verse (1870–74), beside the Sanskrit of sarga 2.13.

13Sanskrit sarga 2.13 · Sanskrit source · English source

Sanskrit

श्रीमद्वाल्मीकियरामायणे अयोध्याकाण्डे त्रयोदशः सर्गः ॥२-१३॥
अतदर्हं महाराजं शयानमतथोचितम्।
ययातिमिव पुण्यान्ते देवलोकात् परिच्युतम्॥ १॥
अनर्थरूपासिद्धार्था ह्यभीता भयदर्शिनी।
पुनराकारयामास तमेव वरमङ्गना॥ २॥
त्वं कत्थसे महाराज सत्यवादी दृढव्रतः।
मम चेदं वरं कस्माद् विधारयितुमिच्छसि॥ ३॥
एवमुक्तस्तु कैकेय्या राजा दशरथस्तदा।
प्रत्युवाच ततः क्रुद्धो मुहूर्तं विह्वलन्निव॥ ४॥
मृते मयि गते रामे वनं मनुजपुङ्गवे।
हन्तानार्ये ममामित्रे सकामा सुखिनी भव॥ ५॥
स्वर्गेऽपि खलु रामस्य कुशलं दैवतैरहम्।
प्रत्यादेशादभिहितं धारयिष्ये कथं बत॥ ६॥
कैकेय्याः प्रियकामेन रामः प्रव्राजितो वनम्।
यदि सत्यं ब्रवीम्येतत् तदसत्यं भविष्यति॥ ७॥
अपुत्रेण मया पुत्रः श्रमेण महता महान्।
रामो लब्धो महातेजाः स कथं त्यज्यते मया॥ ८॥
शूरश्च कृतविद्यश्च जितक्रोधः क्षमापरः।
कथं कमलपत्राक्षो मया रामो विवास्यते॥ ९॥
कथमिन्दीवरश्यामं दीर्घबाहुं महाबलम्।
अभिराममहं रामं स्थापयिष्यामि दण्डकान्॥ १०॥
सुखानामुचितस्यैव दुःखैरनुचितस्य च।
दुःखं नामानुपश्येयं कथं रामस्य धीमतः॥ ११॥
यदि दुःखमकृत्वा तु मम संक्रमणं भवेत्।
अदुःखार्हस्य रामस्य ततः सुखमवाप्नुयाम्॥ १२॥
नृशंसे पापसंकल्पे रामं सत्यपराक्रमम्।
किं विप्रियेण कैकेयि प्रियं योजयसे मम॥ १३॥
अकीर्तिरतुला लोके ध्रुवं परिभविष्यति।
तथा विलपतस्तस्य परिभ्रमितचेतसः॥ १४॥
अस्तमभ्यागमत् सूर्यो रजनी चाभ्यवर्तत।
सा त्रियामा तदार्तस्य चन्द्रमण्डलमण्डिता॥ १५॥
राज्ञो विलपमानस्य न व्यभासत शर्वरी।
सदैवोष्णं विनिःश्वस्य वृद्धो दशरथो नृपः॥ १६॥
विललापार्तवद् दुःखं गगनासक्तलोचनः।
न प्रभातं त्वयेच्छामि निशे नक्षत्रभूषिते॥ १६॥
क्रियतां मे दया भद्रे मयायं रचितोऽञ्जलिः।
अथवा गम्यतां शीघ्रं नाहमिच्छामि निर्घृणाम्॥ १८॥
नृशंसां केकयीं द्रष्टुं यत्कृते व्यसनं मम।
एवमुक्त्वा ततो राजा कैकेयीं संयताञ्जलिः॥ १९॥
प्रसादयामास पुनः कैकेयीं राजधर्मवित्।
साधुवृत्तस्य दीनस्य त्वद्‍गतस्य गतायुषः॥ २०॥
प्रसादः क्रियतां भद्रे देवि राज्ञो विशेषतः।
शून्ये न खलु सुश्रोणि मयेदं समुदाहृतम्॥ २१॥
कुरु साधुप्रसादं मे बाले सहृदया ह्यसि।
प्रसीद देवि रामो मे त्वद्दत्तं राज्यमव्ययम्॥ २२॥
लभतामसितापाङ्गे यशः परमवाप्स्यसि।
मम रामस्य लोकस्य गुरूणां भरतस्य च।
प्रियमेतद् गुरुश्रोणि कुरु चारुमुखेक्षणे॥ २३॥
विशुद्धभावस्य हि दुष्टभावा
दीनस्य ताम्राश्रुकलस्य राज्ञः।
श्रुत्वा विचित्रं करुणं विलापं
भर्तुर्नृशंसा न चकार वाक्यम्॥ २४॥
ततः स राजा पुनरेव मूर्च्छितः
प्रियामतुष्टां प्रतिकूलभाषिणीम्।
समीक्ष्य पुत्रस्य विवासनं प्रति
क्षितौ विसंज्ञो निपपात दुःखितः॥ २५॥
इतीव राज्ञो व्यथितस्य सा निशा
जगाम घोरं श्वसतो मनस्विनः।
विबोध्यमानः प्रतिबोधनं तदा
निवारयामास स राजसत्तमः॥ २६॥
इत्यार्षे श्रीमद्रामायणे वाल्मीकीये आदिकाव्ये अयोध्याकाण्डे त्रयोदशः सर्गः ॥२-१३॥

English Griffith

Unworthy of his mournful fate,
The mighty king, unfortunate,
Lay prostrate in unseemly guise,
As, banished from the blissful skies,
Yayáti, in his evil day.
His merit all exhausted, lay.²⁷⁶
The queen, triumphant in the power
Won by her beauty’s fatal dower,
Still terrible and unsubdued,
Her dire demand again renewed:
“Great Monarch, ’twas thy boast till now
To love the truth and keep the vow;
Then wherefore would thy lips refuse
The promised boon ’tis mine to choose?”

King Daśaratha, thus addressed,
With anger raging in his breast,
Sank for a while beneath the pain,
Then to Kaikeyí spoke again:
“Childless so long, at length I won,
With mighty toil, from Heaven a son,
Ráma, the mighty-armed; and how
Shall I desert my darling now?
A scholar wise, a hero bold,
Of patient mood, with wrath controlled,
How can I bid my Ráma fly,
My darling of the lotus eye?
In heaven itself I scarce could bear,
When asking of my Ráma there,
To hear the Gods his griefs declare,
And O, that death would take me hence
Before I wrong his innocence!”

As thus the monarch wept and wailed,
And maddening grief his heart assailed,
The sun had sought his resting-place,
And night was closing round apace.
But yet the moon-crowned night could bring
No comfort to the wretched king.
As still he mourned with burning sighs
And fixed his gaze upon the skies:
“O Night whom starry fires adorn,
I long not for the coming morn.
Be kind and show some mercy: see,
My suppliant hands are raised to thee.
Nay, rather fly with swifter pace;
No longer would I see the face
Of Queen Kaikeyí, cruel, dread,
Who brings this woe upon mine head.”
Again with suppliant hands he tried
To move the queen, and wept and sighed:
“To me, unhappy me, inclined
To good, sweet dame, thou shouldst be kind;
Whose life is well-nigh fled, who cling
To thee for succour, me thy king.
This, only this, is all my claim:
Have mercy, O my lovely dame.
None else have I to take my part,
Have mercy: thou art good at heart.
Hear, lady of the soft black eye,
And win a name that ne’er shall die:
Let Ráma rule this glorious land,
The gift of thine imperial hand.
O lady of the dainty waist,
With eyes and lips of beauty graced,
Please Ráma, me, each saintly priest,
Bharat, and all from chief to least.”
She heard his wild and mournful cry,
She saw the tears his speech that broke,
Saw her good husband’s reddened eye,
But, cruel still, no word she spoke.
His eyes upon her face he bent,
And sought for mercy, but in vain:
She claimed his darling’s banishment,
He swooned upon the ground again.

Griffith’s notes (1)

Only the highest merit obtains a home in heaven for ever. Minor degrees of merit procure only leases of heavenly mansions terminable after periods proportioned to the fund which buys them. King Yayáti went to heaven and when his term expired was unceremoniously ejected, and thrown down to earth.