---
title: "Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 30"
canonical: "https://ramayana.com/valmiki-ramayana/ayodhya-kanda/sarga-30"
lang: "en"
---

# Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 30

> सान्त्व्यमाना तु रामेण मैथिली जनकात्मजा।  
> वनवासनिमित्तार्थं भर्तारमिदमब्रवीत्॥ १॥

Being consoled by Śrī Rāma, Sītā, Janaka’s daughter, the princess of Mithilā, for her part, replied thus to her husband in order to obtain his permission to live with him in the forest. (1)

> सा तमुत्तमसंविग्ना सीता विपुलवक्षसम्।  
> प्रणयाच्चाभिमानाच्च परिचिक्षेप राघवम्॥ २॥

Highly agitated at the thought of her separation from Śrī Rāma, the said Sītā taunted Śrī Rāma (a scion of Raghu), who was distinguished by a broad chest, from affection and pride in the following words: (2)

> किं त्वामन्यत वैदेहः पिता मे मिथिलाधिपः।  
> राम जामातरं प्राप्य स्त्रियं पुरुषविग्रहम्॥ ३॥

“Securing you as his son-in-law, O Rāma, did my father, Janaka (descended in the line of the Videhas), the king of Mithilā, recognise you to be a woman in the form of a man? (3)

> अनृतं बत लोकोऽयमज्ञानाद् यदि वक्ष्यति।  
> तेजो नास्ति परं रामे तपतीव दिवाकरे॥ ४॥

“It would be a matter for pity to me if in the event of your not taking me with you the people of Ayodhyā utter through ignorance the falsehood that ‘Supreme valour is lacking in Śrī Rāma, even though he blazes like the sun.’ (4)

> किं हि कृत्वा विषण्णस्त्वं कुतो वा भयमस्ति ते।  
> यत् परित्यक्तुकामस्त्वं मामनन्यपरायणाम्॥ ५॥

“On what ground are you cast down or whence the fear in you for which you are inclined to desert me, exclusively devoted as I am to you? (5)

> द्युमत्सेनसुतं वीरं सत्यवन्तमनुव्रताम्।  
> सावित्रीमिव मां विद्धि त्वमात्मवशवर्तिनीम्॥ ६॥

“Know me you to be as obedient to your will as Sāvitrī (of historical fame) was devoted to the valiant Satyavān, son of King Dyumatsena. (6)

> न त्वहं मनसा प्यन्यं द्रष्टास्मि त्वदृतेऽनघ।  
> त्वया राघव गच्छेयं यथान्या कुलपांसनी॥ ७॥

“I will not cast my eyes even in thought on anyone else than you as any other woman bringing disgrace to her family would, O sinless one! I must accompany you, O scion of Raghu ! (7)

> स्वयं तु भार्यां कौमारीं चिरमध्युषितां सतीम्।  
> शैलूष इव मां राम परेभ्यो दातुमिच्छसि॥ ८॥

“How do you, like a man who lives by his wife, intend to deliver to others of your own will, me, your chaste wife, who was married to you before puberty and has lived with you for a long time, O Rāma? (8)

> यस्य पथ्यंचरामात्थ यस्य चार्थेऽवरुध्यसे।  
> त्वं तस्य भव वश्यश्च विधेयश्च सदानघ॥ ९॥

“Be you ever amenable to the control of and obedient to him whom you ask me to follow the wishes of Bharat, and for whose sake you are being pushed back. (9)

> स मामनादाय वनं न त्वं प्रस्थितुमर्हसि।  
> तपो वा यदि वारण्यं स्वर्गो वा स्यात् त्वया सह॥ १०॥

“Such as you are, you ought not to proceed to the forest without taking me with you. Be it a course of austerities, forest life or heavenly life, let it be with you. (10)

> न च मे भविता तत्र कश्चित् पथि परिश्रमः।  
> पृष्ठतस्तव गच्छन्त्या विहारशयनेष्विव॥ ११॥

“No more exertion will be caused to me in following at your heels on the paths in the forest than in strolling in a garden or in sleep. (11)

> कुशकाशशरेषीका ये च कण्टकिनो द्रुमाः।  
> तूलाजिनसमस्पर्शा मार्गे मम सह त्वया॥ १२॥

“Blades of the sacred Kuśa grass, shrubs known by the name of Kāśa, reeds and rushes and whatever prickly bushes fall in my way in your company will touch my soles like a heap of cotton or soft deerskin. (12)

> महावातसमुद्भूतं यन्मामवकरिष्यति।  
> रजो रमण तन्मन्ये परार्घ्यमिव चन्दनम्॥ १३॥

“I shall reckon the dust raised by a storm that will cover my body as most exquisite sandal dust, my lord ! (13)

> शाद्वलेषु यदा शिश्ये वनान्तर्वनगोचरा।  
> कुथास्तरणयुक्तेषु किं स्यात् सुखतरं ततः॥ १४॥

“When, while living in the forest, I shall lie down on turfs in the heart of a forest with you, will lying in beds covered with soft carpets be more comfortable than that? (14)

> पत्रं मूलं फलं यत्तु अल्पं वा यदि वा बहु।  
> दास्यसे स्वयमाहृत्य तन्मेऽमृतरसोपमम्॥ १५॥

“Anything you will give me in the shape of leaves, roots or fruits, bringing it yourself in a small or large quantity will taste like nectar to me. (15)

> न मातुर्न पितुस्तत्र स्मरिष्यामि न वेश्मनः।  
> आर्तवान्युपभुञ्जाना पुष्पाणि च फलानि च॥ १६॥

“Enjoying there seasonal flowers and fruits too I shall neither remember my mother nor father nor home. (16)

> न च तत्र ततः किंचिद् द्रष्टुमर्हसि विप्रियम्।  
> मत्कृते न च ते शोको न भविष्यामि दुर्भरा॥ १७॥

“You ought not to foresee anything unwelcome following from my departure to the forest. Nor will any grief come to you on my account there, nor shall I prove hard to sustain. (17)

> यस्त्वया सह स स्वर्गो निरयो यस्त्वया विना।  
> इति जानन् परां प्रीतिं गच्छ राम मया सह॥ १८॥

“An abode which will be shared by me with you will be pleasing as heaven to me; while that which will be shorn of you will be repellent as hell. Knowing thus my supreme love for you, proceed to the forest with me, O Rāma ! (18)

> अथ मामेवमव्यग्रां वनं नैव नयिष्यसे।  
> विषमद्यैव पास्यामि मा वशं द्विषतां गमम्॥ १९॥

“If you definitely do not take me to the forest, even though I am not the least afraid of going there as shown above, I shall drink poison this very day but would on no account submit to the will of enemies (Bharata and others). (19)

> पश्चादपि हि दुःखेन मम नैवास्ति जीवितम्।  
> उज्झितायास्त्वया नाथ तदैव मरणं वरम्॥ २०॥

“Surely as a result of agony caused by separation from you, I am not going to live even afterwards when abandoned by you, O lord ! It is, therefore, better that I should die in your very presence. (20)

> इमं हि सहितुं शोकं मुहूर्तमपि नोत्सहे।  
> किं पुनर्दश वर्षाणि त्रीणि चैकं च दुःखिता॥ २१॥

“I indeed cannot endure even for less than an hour the grief caused by separation from you. How, then, can I, an afflicted woman, bear it for ten years and four?”(21)

> इति सा शोकसंतप्ता विलप्य करुणं बहु।  
> चुक्रोश पतिमायस्ता भृशमालिङ्ग्य सस्वरम्॥ २२॥

Having wailed a lot in a piteous way as aforesaid, and closely embracing her husband, tormented as she was with grief, Sītā, who now felt exhausted, cried piteously shedding stream of tears. (22)

> सा विद्धा बहुभिर्वाक्यैर्दिग्धैरिव गजाङ्गना।  
> चिरसंनियतं बाष्पं मुमोचाग्निमिवारणिः॥ २३॥

Tortured with many homilies like a female elephant pierced with poisoned shafts, she shed tears that had long been restrained even as a piece of wood would emit fire through attrition with another. (23)

> तस्याः स्फटिकसंकाशं वारि संतापसम्भवम्।  
> नेत्राभ्यां परिसुस्राव पङ्कजाभ्यामिवोदकम्॥ २४॥

Tear-drops sparkling as crystal and born of agony slipped from her eyes as water from a pair of lotuses. (24)

> तत्सितामलचन्द्राभं मुखमायतलोचनम्।  
> पर्यशुष्यत बाष्पेण जलोद्धृतमिवाम्बुजम्॥ २५॥

Her countenance, that shone like the uneclipsed moon on a full moon night and was distinguished by big eyes, was blasted with hot tears as a lotus taken out of water is withered through heat. (25)

> तां परिष्वज्य बाहुभ्यां विसंज्ञामिव दुःखिताम्।  
> उवाच वचनं रामः परिविश्वासयंस्तदा॥ २६॥

Folding in his arms Sītā, who felt distressed and had fainted, as it were, Śrī Rāma then spoke to her as follows, fully reassuring her: (26)

> न देवि बत दुःखेन स्वर्गमप्यभिरोचये।  
> नहि मेऽस्ति भयं किंचित् स्वयम्भोरिव सर्वतः॥ २७॥

“Alas, I find no delight even in heaven obtained by causing agony to you, O pious lady ! Nor is there fear to me from any quarter any more than to Brahmā, the self-born. (27)

> तव सर्वमभिप्रायमविज्ञाय शुभानने।  
> वासं न रोचयेऽरण्ये शक्तिमानपि रक्षणे॥ २८॥

“Not knowing your full mind, O lady with a charming countenance, I did not approve of your sojourn in the forest, though capable of protecting you. (28)

> यत् सृष्टासि मया सार्धं वनवासाय मैथिलि।  
> न विहातुं मया शक्या प्रीतिरात्मवता यथा॥ २९॥

“Since you were obviously born to dwell with me in the forest, O princess of Mithilā, you are incapable of being abandoned by me even as tenderness cannot be given up by a man of self-knowledge. (29)

> धर्मस्तु गजनासोरु सद्भिराचरितः पुरा।  
> तं चाहमनुवर्तिष्ये यथा सूर्यं सुवर्चला॥ ३०॥

“Nay, I shall abide by the moral law actually followed by the virtuous dwellers in the forest in the past, O lady with comely limbs ! Follow me now even as Suvarcalā (nicknamed Saṁjñā, wife of the sun-god) does the sun-god. (30)

> न खल्वहं न गच्छेयं वनं जनकनन्दिनि।  
> वचनं तन्नयति मां पितुः सत्योपबृंहितम्॥ ३१॥

“Of course, it cannot be that I may not proceed to the forest, O daughter of Janaka; for that plighted word of my father is urging me to proceed to the forest. (31)

> एष धर्मश्च सुश्रोणि पितुर्मातुश्च वश्यता।  
> आज्ञां चाहं व्यतिक्रम्य नाहं जीवितुमुत्सहे॥ ३२॥

“Nay, obedience to one’s father and mother—this is one’s sacred duty, O handsome lady ! And violating their command I dare not survive. (32)

> अस्वाधीनं कथं दैवं प्रकारैरभिराध्यते।  
> स्वाधीनं समतिक्रम्य मातरं पितरं गुरुम्॥ ३३॥

“Disregarding one’s mother, father and teacher, whose command can be directly obtained, how can it be possible to propitiate one’s chosen deity, who is not so manifest, through traditional modes of worship? (33)

> यत्र त्रयं त्रयो लोकाः पवित्रं तत्समं भुवि।  
> नान्यदस्ति शुभापाङ्गे तेनेदमभिराध्यते॥ ३४॥

“No other worship is so sacred or capable of delivering the worshipper from the great fear of transmigration on earth as service to the aforesaid three, through which all the three worlds (heaven, earth and the space intervening them) can be propitiated and all the three objects of human pursuit viz., religious merit, earthly possessions and gratification of senses can be obtained, O lady with charming glances ! Hence the above-mentioned three are sought to be propitiated by me. (34)

> न सत्यं दानमानौ वा यज्ञो वाप्याप्तदक्षिणाः।  
> तथा बलकराः सीते यथा सेवा पितुर्मता॥ ३५॥

“Neither truthfulness nor gifts and honour bestowed on the deserving, nor sacrificial performances in which sacrificial fees are handsomely paid are so potent in securing happiness in the other world as service to one’s father and mother is believed to be. (35)

> स्वर्गो धनं वा धान्यं वा विद्या पुत्राः सुखानि च।  
> गुरुवृत्त्यनुरोधेन न किंचिदपि दुर्लभम्॥ ३६॥

“Heavenly bliss or earthly riches, foodgrains or learning, sons and amenities of life—nothing is hard to obtain through compliance with the wishes of one’s elders. (36)

> देवगन्धर्वगोलोकान् ब्रह्मलोकांस्तथापरान्।  
> प्राप्नुवन्ति महात्मानो मातापितृपरायणाः॥ ३७॥

“High-souled men exclusively devoted to the service of their parents secure after their death the regions of the gods and the Gandharvas, the seventh heaven presided over by Brahmā, the creator, and other regions, nay, even Goloka (the highest heaven presided—over by Śrī Rādhā and Śrī Kṛṣṇa, so-called because it abounds in cows, the pets of Śrī Kṛṣṇa). (37)

> स मां पिता यथा शास्ति सत्यधर्मपथे स्थितः।  
> तथा वर्तितुमिच्छामि स हि धर्मः सनातनः॥ ३८॥

“I wish to do precisely as my celebrated father, devoted to the path of truthfulness and virtue, enjoins me to do; for such is the eternal law of morality. (38)

> मम सन्ना मतिः सीते नेतुं त्वां दण्डकावनम्।  
> वसिष्यामीति सा त्वं मामनुयातुं सुनिश्चिता॥ ३९॥

“Inasmuch as you are fully determined to follow me to the forest with a resolution to sojourn there, my former decision about not taking you to the forest of Daṇḍaka has become feeble, O Sītā ! (39)

> सा हि दिष्टानवद्याङ्गि वनाय मदिरेक्षणे।  
> अनुगच्छस्व मां भीरु सहधर्मचरी भव॥ ४०॥

“Since you are now allowed by me to proceed to the forest with me, O timid lady with flawless limbs and bewitching eyes, follow me as such and be my partner in the practice of asceticism incumbent on the dwellers in a forest. (40)

> सर्वथा सदृशं सीते मम स्वस्य कुलस्य च।  
> व्यवसायमनुक्रान्ता कान्ते त्वमतिशोभनम्॥ ४१॥

“Beloved Sītā, you have arrived at a most welcome decision worthy in everyway of my race as well as of yours. (41)

> आरभस्व शुभश्रोणि वनवासक्षमाः क्रियाः।  
> नेदानीं त्वदृते सीते स्वर्गोऽपि मम रोचते॥ ४२॥

“Proceed with the duties preliminary to a sojourn in the woods, O lady with charming limbs! Without you even heaven does not catch my fancy at this moment. (42)

> ब्राह्मणेभ्यश्च रत्नानि भिक्षुकेभ्यश्च भोजनम्।  
> देहि चाशंसमानेभ्यः संत्वरस्व च मा चिरम्॥ ४३॥

“Nay, bestow valuable gifts on the Brāhmaṇas and also offer food to mendicants asking for it. Again, be very quick. Make no delay. (43)

> भूषणानि महार्हाणि वरवस्त्राणि यानि च।  
> रमणीयाश्च ये केचित् क्रीडार्थाश्चाप्युपस्कराः॥ ४४॥  
> शयनीयानि यानानि मम चान्यानि यानि च।  
> देहि स्वभृत्यवर्गस्य ब्राह्मणानामनन्तरम्॥ ४५॥

“Give to the various grades of your dependants whatever costly ornaments, fine articles of wearing apparel and whatever lovely articles of household use and those meant for diversion, couches and conveyances, both mine as well as yours, and whatever articles are left after satisfying the Brāhmaṇas.” (44-45)

> अनुकूलं तु सा भर्तुर्ज्ञात्वा गमनमात्मनः।  
> क्षिप्रं प्रमुदिता देवी दातुमेव प्रचक्रमे॥ ४६॥

Overjoyed to know her departure to the forest acceptable to her husband, the godly lady Sītā for her part quickly and definitely set about making gifts accordingly. (46)

> ततः प्रहृष्टा प्रतिपूर्णमानसा  
> यशस्विनी भर्तुरवेक्ष्य भाषितम्।  
> धनानि रत्नानि च दातुमङ्गना  
> प्रचक्रमे धर्मभृतां मनस्विनी॥ ४७॥

Feeling reassured in mind and overjoyed to ponder over the speech of her husband, the illustrious and strong-minded lady forthwith commenced gifting riches and jewels to virtuous souls. (47)

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