Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 35

Meaning

Beating his head all of a sudden and sighing again and again, pressing his hand against the other and grinding his teeth, turning his eyes crimson with wrath, shedding his former (normal) colour, overwhelmed as he was with anger, and, suddenly falling a prey to bitter agony, nay, carefully reading the mind of Daśaratha, Sumantra spoke as follows, shaking Kaikeyī’s heart, as it were, with sharp arrows in the form of words and as though piercing all her vitals with his acrimonious words resembling so many peerless thunderbolts : (1—4)

Meaning

“Surely there is nothing on earth most undesirable for you, by whom your husband, King Daśaratha himself, the supporter of the entire creation, both immobile and mobile, stands betrayed, O queen ! I consider you to be the murderess of your husband and ultimately the exterminator of your race too, in that you torment with your actions your husband, who is invincible as the great Indra, unshakable as a mountain and imperturbable as an ocean. (5—7).

Meaning

“Do not despise Daśaratha, your husband and lord, the bestower of boons, as the will of a husband is superior to that of ten millions of sons. (8)

Meaning

“Indeed, on the death of a king his sons inherit the sovereign rights according to seniority of age. You seek to violate this time-honoured practice even in the presence (life-time) of this ruler of the Ikṣwākus ! (9)

Meaning

“Let your son, Bharata, be crowned king and rule over the earth. We, for our part, shall go wheresoever Rāma goes. (10)

Meaning

“Nor should any Brāhmaṇa dwell in your kingdom. If you perpetrate today such an act of impropriety (as you are intent on perpetrating), we shall all positively follow the path resorted to by Śrī Rāma. What joy, O royal lady, will be derived through attainment of sovereignty by you, who will thus be deserted for good by all your kith and kin, Brāhmaṇas and other pious souls? You seek to perpetrate such an act of impropriety. (11—13)

Meaning

“I reckon it a wonder that the earth is not immediately rent asunder as a sequel to your resorting to such improper conduct. Nor do rods of punishment in the form of fiery and obviously fearful reproach uttered by great Brāhmaṇa sages (Vasiṣṭha and others) kill you, who are bent on exiling Śrī Rāma! (14-15)

Meaning

“Who on earth will nurture a Neem tree (with its proverbially bitter leaves and fruits etc.,) felling down a mango tree with an axe? And a Neem tree will not turn sweet for him who nourishes it with milk. (16)

Meaning

“Indeed, I account your innate disposition to be exactly similar to that of your mother. The proverb is often quoted in the world that surely honey does not flow from a Neem tree. (17)

Meaning

“We know, as heard of in the past, the intentness of your mother on evil. Someone capable of granting boons bestowed a most excellent boon on your father. (18)

Meaning

“By virtue of it the king, your father, could understand the language of all created beings. The talk of those belonging to the sub-human species was thereby understood by him. (19)

Meaning

“From the shrill cry of a bird heard by him while in his bed the meaning of it was accordingly deciphered by your exceedingly glorious father and he laughed over it repeatedly. (20)

Meaning

“Your mother grew indignant at this and, seeking even to hang him in case he refused to disclose the reason of his laughter, spoke as follows : ‘I wish to know the meaning of your laughter, O gentle monarch ! (21)

Meaning

“The King too replied to that royal lady, ‘If I tell you the reason of my laughter, my death will speedily follow from it: there is no doubt about it.’ (22)

Meaning

“Your mother then said to your father, the ruler of the Kekayas, ‘Live or die as you will; in any case tell me the reason of your laughter. Then alone shall I be satisfied that you shall not laugh at me hereafter.’ (23)

Meaning

“Told thus by his beloved consort, the said king of the Kekayas for his part correctly reported the matter to the sage who had bestowed the boon on him. (24)

Meaning

“Thereupon the holy man who had bestowed the boon on him replied to the king, ‘Let her die or depart (from your house for her parents’ home); reveal you not the secret to her, O ruler of the earth !’ (25)

Meaning

“Hearing the aforesaid reply of the holy man, who was pleased at heart with him, and speedily repudiating your mother, the said king (your father) lived happily like Kubera (the god of riches). (26)

Meaning

“Treading on the path trodden by wicked men and seeing evil everywhere, you too likewise are urging this Emperor through infatuation to adopt an evil course. (27)

Meaning

“Nay, the popular saying on this subject that males take after their father and females after their mother appears to me as true. (28)

Meaning

“Do not follow the ways of your mother, and accept that which the Emperor enjoins on you. Following the will of your husband, be a protectress to these people here. (29)

Meaning

“Do not, as incited by the wicked, constrain your husband—who is, at the same time, the protector of the world and vies in splendour with Indra—to adopt an improper course of conduct. (30)

Meaning

“The glorious and lotus-eyed King Daśaratha, who is free from sin, would not belie the promise made by him to you, O royal lady ! (31)

Meaning

“Let Rāma, the eldest of his sons—who is generous, strong and given to righteous acts and is capable not only of vindicating his own duty as a Kṣatriya but also of protecting the entire living creation, be installed on the throne of Ayodhyā. (32)

Meaning

“A great calumny will surely spread about you, O royal lady, if Rāma goes to the forest, leaving his royal father. (33)

Meaning

“Let Śrī Rāma, a scion of Raghu, protect his own kingdom and be you free from anxiety. Ruling over Ayodhyā, the foremost of cities, no king other than Śrī Rāma will be favourably disposed to you. (34)

Meaning

“Bearing in mind the conduct of his forbears, King Daśaratha, who wields a mighty bow, will surely retire to the forest in the event of Śrī Rāma being installed in the office of Prince Regent.” (35)

Meaning

In this way with folded hands Sumantra for his part violently shook Kaikeyī with pungent remarks as well as with kind words in the king’s court. (36)

Meaning

The said queen, however, was neither excited nor agonized nor was any change observed at that time in the colour of her face. (37)