The Ramayana in Sanskrit: Book 2: Chapter 16

This is a passage from the Valmiki Ramayana (Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 19), presented in both Roman transliteration and Devanagari script — one of the foundational texts of Sanskrit epic poetry and Hindu devotional literature. The scene depicts Rama's discovery of his impending exile: he enters the royal chamber to find his father Dasharatha sitting beside Kaikeyi, ashen-faced and unable to speak or meet Rama's eyes. Kaikeyi then coldly reveals the two boons the king had once promised her — the coronation of her son Bharata and Rama's fourteen-year banishment to the Dandaka forest. The passage's emotional core is Rama's response: he accepts the exile instantly and without visible distress, declaring he would walk into fire, drink poison, or cross the ocean if his father commanded it, and that he would freely give Bharata the kingdom, Sita, his wealth, and his life even unprompted. His only note of pain is that his father lacked the courage to tell him directly. The text is notably attentive to inner states — Dasharatha's speechless grief is compared to a turbulent ocean and an eclipsed sun, while Rama's preternatural equanimity is likened to the moon undimmed by night. The passage closes with Rama circumambulating his father and Kaikeyi, departing the inner chambers with the tearful, furious Lakshmana following behind, and then entering his mother's quarters to break the news — maintaining perfect composure even in the face of catastrophic loss.

The Ramayana in Sanskrit: Book 2: Chapter 16

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