Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 38

Meaning

On Sītā wearing the bark of trees like a helpless woman though protected by her husband, all the people present there loudly exclaimed, “Fie upon you, (the powerless) Daśaratha, who does not stop this flagrant injustice !” (1)

Meaning

Pained to hear that loud cry, the said Emperor lost all his interest in life, religious merit and renown. (2)

Meaning

Heaving a sigh of grief, that scion of Ikṣwāku spoke to his wife, Kaikeyī, as follows: “Sītā surely does not deserve to depart in a robe made of Kuśa grass, O Kaikeyī! (3)

Meaning

“My preceptor, Vasiṣṭha, truly says that delicate of body, young and ever used to amenities of life, as she is, she is not fit for residence in a forest. (4)

Meaning

“Has this innocent daughter of Janaka, a jewel among kings, really done any injury to anyone whosoever, that having received a robe of bark she stands dumbfounded like an ordinary hermitess in the midst of men? (5)

Meaning

“Let Sītā, the daughter of Janaka, shed her robes of bark. No such pledge that she would accompany her husband in robes of bark was given by me in the past. Let the princess, therefore, proceed at pleasure to the forest fully equipped with clothes and ornaments and provided with all valuable possessions. (6)

Meaning

“In the first place a cruel promise was made on oath by me, who no longer deserve to survive; on top of it, this unjust act of providing the robes of a hermitess to Sītā has been initiated by you through sheer childishness. That is sure to consume me even as the blossoming of a bamboo brings about its own destruction. (7)

Meaning

“Even supposing some offence was given to you by Rāma, what wrong on earth was done to you by Sītā, a princess of the Videha territory, O vile woman? (8)

Meaning

“What injury on earth could the lofty-minded Sītā, the daughter of Janaka, do to you—Sītā, who is distinguished by a pair of blooming eyes like a female gazelle and is possessed of a mild disposition? (9)

Meaning

“Indeed, sending Rāma into exile in the robes of a hermit, as you are doing, O sinful woman, is enough for you. What more do you seek to gain through these further sins in the shape of exiling Sītā and that too in the robes of a hermitess which are going to be perpetrated by you and which are calculated to land you in untold suffering? (10)

Meaning

“Hearing your command,* which you gave to Rāma, who called here (the other day) in connection with his installation as Prince Regent, O queen, that much was silently acquiesced in by me. (11)

Meaning

“Distinctly going beyond that, however, as you are doing now, you seek to go to hell in that you would have Sītā, a princess of Mithilā, too, clad in the bark of trees.”(12)

Meaning

To his father, who sat with his head bent low, while speaking as aforesaid, Śrī Rāma, who was now actually on his way to the forest, submitted as follows : (13)

Meaning

“This illustrious mother of mine, Kausalyā, has not only grown old, but is of a generous disposition too and never speaks ill of you, O pious monarch ! (14)

Meaning

“When she is bereft of me and consequently drowned in a sea of grief, although she has known no suffering before, O bestower of boons, you ought to show greater regard to her, so that the poor lady may not fall a prey to grief caused by separation from me (her son) and treated with respect by you, who are worthy of adoration to her, and contemplating on me, may survive under your care. (15-16)

Meaning

“Kindly handle my mother, who is sure to pine for me (her son), in such a way, O compeer of the mighty Indra, the lord of paradise, as to ensure that, stricken with grief, when I am sojourning in the forest, she may not depart to the abode of Yama, the god of death, giving up the ghost.” (17)