Sumantra's Rebuke

Shloka 1 (ayodhya.35.1)

ततो निर्धूय सहसा शिरो निःश्वस्व चासकृत् । पाणौ पाणिम् विनिष्पिष्य दन्तान् कटकटाय्य च ॥ 35.1 ॥

tato nirdhūya sahasā śiro niḥśvasva cāsakṛt | pāṇau pāṇim viniṣpiṣya dantān kaṭakaṭāyya ca

Then, suddenly shaking his head, sighing again and again, wringing hand against hand, and grinding his teeth —

Shloka 2 (ayodhya.35.2)

लोचने कोपसम्रक्ते वर्णम् पूर्वोचितम् जहत् । कोपाभिभूतः सहसा सम्तापमशुभम् गतः ॥ 35.2 ॥

locane kopasamrakte varṇam pūrvocitam jahat | kopābhibhūtaḥ sahasā samtāpamaśubham gataḥ

— his eyes reddened with rage, losing his usual complexion, overwhelmed with anger, suddenly seized by a dreadful anguish —

Shloka 3 (ayodhya.35.3)

मनः समीक्षमाणश्च सूतो दशरथस्य सः । कम्पयन्निव कैकेय्या हृदयम् वाक्छरैश्शितैः ॥ 35.3 ॥

manaḥ samīkṣamāṇaśca sūto daśarathasya saḥ | kampayanniva kaikeyyā hṛdayam vākcharaiśśitaiḥ

— and closely reading Dasharatha's mind, that charioteer, as though to make Kaikeyi's very heart tremble with sharp arrows of speech —

Shloka 4 (ayodhya.35.4)

वाक्यवज्रैरनुपमैर्निर्भिन्दन्निव चाशुगैः । कैकेय्या सर्वमर्माणि सुमन्त्रः प्रत्यभाषत ॥ 35.4 ॥

vākyavajrairanupamairnirbhindanniva cāśugaiḥ | kaikeyyā sarvamarmāṇi sumantraḥ pratyabhāṣata

— as if piercing every vital part of Kaikeyi with swift, matchless thunderbolts of words, Sumantra spoke thus:

Shloka 5 (ayodhya.35.5)

यश्यास्तव पतिस्त्यक्तोराजा दशरथः स्वयम् । भर्ता सर्वस्य जगतः स्थावरस्य चरश्य च ॥ 35.5 ॥

yaśyāstava patistyaktorājā daśarathaḥ svayam | bhartā sarvasya jagataḥ sthāvarasya caraśya ca

"There is nothing on this earth so utterly disgraceful as this: that you have yourself forsaken your own husband, King Dasharatha, the sustainer of this entire world, of all that moves and all that does not."

Shloka 6 (ayodhya.35.6)

न ह्यकार्यतमम् किंचित् तव देवीह विद्यते । पतिघ्नीम् त्वामहम् मन्ये कुलघ्नीमपि चान्ततः ॥ 35.6 ॥

na hyakāryatamam kiṃcit tava devīha vidyate | patighnīm tvāmaham manye kulaghnīmapi cāntataḥ

"O queen, there is indeed nothing so unworthy an act left for you to do. I consider you the slayer of your husband, and in the end, the destroyer of your own lineage too —"

Shloka 7 (ayodhya.35.7)

यन्म हेंद्रमिवाजय्यम् दुष्प्रकम्प्यमिवाचलम् । महोदधिमिवाक्षोभ्यम् सन्तापयसि कर्मभिः ॥ 35.7 ॥

yanma heṃdramivājayyam duṣprakampyamivācalam | mahodadhimivākṣobhyam santāpayasi karmabhiḥ

"— for by your deeds you torment him who is unconquerable as great Indra, immovable as a mountain, unshakable as the great ocean."

Shloka 8 (ayodhya.35.8)

मावमंस्था दशरथम् भर्तारम् वरदम् पतिम् । भर्तुरिच्छा हि नारीणाम्पुत्रकोट्या विशिष्यते ॥ 35.8 ॥

māvamaṃsthā daśaratham bhartāram varadam patim | bharturicchā hi nārīṇāmputrakoṭyā viśiṣyate

"Do not dishonour Dasharatha, your protector, the giver of the boon, your own husband — for a husband's wish is worth more to a woman than ten million sons."

Shloka 9 (ayodhya.35.9)

यथावयो हि राज्यानि प्राप्नुवन्ति नृपक्षये । इक्ष्वाकुकुलनाथेऽस्मिंस्तल्लोपयितुमिच्छसि ॥ 35.9 ॥

yathāvayo hi rājyāni prāpnuvanti nṛpakṣaye | ikṣvākukulanāthe'smiṃstallopayitumicchasi

"Kingdoms indeed pass, upon a king's death, according to age — but in the case of this lord of the Ikshvaku line, you wish to overturn that very rule."

Shloka 10 (ayodhya.35.10)

राजा भवतु ते पुत्रो भरतश्शास्तु मेदिनीम् । वयम् तत्र गमिष्यामो रामो यत्र गमिष्यति ॥ 35.10 ॥

rājā bhavatu te putro bharataśśāstu medinīm | vayam tatra gamiṣyāmo rāmo yatra gamiṣyati

"Let your son Bharata become king, let him rule this earth — as for us, we shall go wherever Rama goes."

Shloka 11 (ayodhya.35.11)

न हि ते विषये कश्चिद्ब्राह्मणो वस्तुमर्हति । तादृशम् त्वममर्यादमद्य कर्म चिकीर्षसि ॥ 35.11 ॥

na hi te viṣaye kaścidbrāhmaṇo vastumarhati | tādṛśam tvamamaryādamadya karma cikīrṣasi

"Not a single brahmin will remain fit to dwell in your realm — such is the boundless impropriety of the act you now intend."

Shloka 12 (ayodhya.35.12)

नूनम् सर्वे गमिष्यामो मार्गम् रामनिषेवितम् । त्यक्ताया बान्धवैः सर्वैर्ब्राह्मणैः साधुभिः सदा ॥ 35.12 ॥

nūnam sarve gamiṣyāmo mārgam rāmaniṣevitam | tyaktāyā bāndhavaiḥ sarvairbrāhmaṇaiḥ sādhubhiḥ sadā

"Surely all of us shall take the path that Rama takes. O queen, forsaken forever by all your kinsmen, by brahmins, and by the virtuous —"

Shloka 13 (ayodhya.35.13)

का प्रीती राज्यलाभेन तव देवि भविष्यति । तादृशम् त्वममर्यादम् कर्म कर्तुम् चिकीर्षसि ॥ 35.13 ॥

kā prītī rājyalābhena tava devi bhaviṣyati | tādṛśam tvamamaryādam karma kartum cikīrṣasi

"— what joy, O queen, will you gain from possessing this kingdom? Such is the boundless improper act you now wish to carry out."

Shloka 14 (ayodhya.35.14)

आश्चर्यमिव पश्यामि यस्यास्ते वृत्तमीदृशम् । आचरन्त्या न विदृता सद्यो भवति मेदिनी ॥ 35.14 ॥

āścaryamiva paśyāmi yasyāste vṛttamīdṛśam | ācarantyā na vidṛtā sadyo bhavati medinī

"I look on it as a very wonder — that though you conduct yourself in such a manner, the earth does not that instant split open beneath you."

Shloka 15 (ayodhya.35.15)

महाब्रह्मर्षिसृष्टा वा ज्वलन्तो भीमदर्शना । धिग्वाग्दण्डणा न हिंसन्ति रामप्रव्राजने स्थिताम् ॥ 35.15 ॥

mahābrahmarṣisṛṣṭā vā jvalanto bhīmadarśanā | dhigvāgdaṇḍaṇā na hiṃsanti rāmapravrājane sthitām

"I marvel too that the blazing, terrible rods of curse, uttered by the great sages, do not strike you down, resolved as you are on sending Rama into exile."

Shloka 16 (ayodhya.35.16)

आम्रम् चित्वा कुठारेन निम्बम् परिचरेत्तु यः । यश्चेनम् पयसा सिञ्चेन्नैवास्य मधुरो भवेत् ॥ 35.16 ॥

āmram citvā kuṭhārena nimbam paricarettu yaḥ | yaścenam payasā siñcennaivāsya madhuro bhavet

"One who cuts down a mango tree with an axe to tend a neem tree instead, and even waters it with milk — that neem shall never turn sweet for him."

Shloka 17 (ayodhya.35.17)

अभिजात्यम् हि ते मन्ये यथा मातुस्तथैव च । न हि निम्बात्स्रवेत्क्षौद्रम् लोके निगदितम् वचः ॥ 35.17 ॥

abhijātyam hi te manye yathā mātustathaiva ca | na hi nimbātsravetkṣaudram loke nigaditam vacaḥ

"Your very nature, I think, is exactly that of your mother's — for as the saying goes in this world, honey never flows from a neem tree."

Shloka 18 (ayodhya.35.18)

तव मातुरसद्ग्राहम् विद्मः पूर्वम् यथाश्रुतम् । पितुस्ते वरदः कश्चिद्ददौ वरमनुत्तमम् ॥ 35.18 ॥

tava māturasadgrāham vidmaḥ pūrvam yathāśrutam | pituste varadaḥ kaściddadau varamanuttamam

"We know, as it has been told before, of your mother's evil obstinacy. Some giver of boons once granted your father a matchless gift —"

Shloka 19 (ayodhya.35.19)

सर्वभूतरुतम् तस्मात्सम्जज्ञे वसुधाधिपः । तेन तिर्यग्गतानाम् च भूतानाम् विदितम् वचः ॥ 35.19 ॥

sarvabhūtarutam tasmātsamjajñe vasudhādhipaḥ | tena tiryaggatānām ca bhūtānām viditam vacaḥ

"— by which that lord of the earth came to understand the cries of all creatures, and through it, even the speech of beings of the animal kingdom became known to him."

Shloka 20 (ayodhya.35.20)

ततो जृम्भस्य शयने विरुताद्भूरिवर्चसा । पितुस्ते विदितो भावः स तत्र बहुधाऽहसत् ॥ 35.20 ॥

tato jṛmbhasya śayane virutādbhūrivarcasā | pituste vidito bhāvaḥ sa tatra bahudhā'hasat

"Then, one day, from the sound of an insect near his bed, your father of great splendour understood its meaning, and laughed aloud, again and again."

Shloka 21 (ayodhya.35.21)

तत्र ते जननी क्रुद्धा मृत्युपाशमभीप्सती । हासम् ते नृपते सौम्य जिज्ञासामीति भाब्रवीत् ॥ 35.21 ॥

tatra te jananī kruddhā mṛtyupāśamabhīpsatī | hāsam te nṛpate saumya jijñāsāmīti bhābravīt

Your mother, angered at this, and even ready to bind him with a noose of death, said: "O gentle king, I must know the meaning of your laughter."

Shloka 22 (ayodhya.35.22)

नृपश्चोवाच ताम् देवीम् देवि शंसामि ते यदि । ततो मे मरणम् सद्यो भविष्यति न संशयः ॥ 35.22 ॥

nṛpaścovāca tām devīm devi śaṃsāmi te yadi | tato me maraṇam sadyo bhaviṣyati na saṃśayaḥ

The king replied to that lady: "O queen, if I tell you, then my death shall follow at once — of this there is no doubt."

Shloka 23 (ayodhya.35.23)

माता ते पितरम् देवि ततह् केकयमब्रवीत् । शंस मे जीव वा मा वा न मामपहसिष्यसि ॥ 35.23 ॥

mātā te pitaram devi tatah kekayamabravīt | śaṃsa me jīva vā mā vā na māmapahasiṣyasi

"O queen, your mother then said to your father, the king of Kekaya: 'Tell me, whether you live or die — you shall not mock me by refusing.'"

Shloka 24 (ayodhya.35.24)

प्रियया च तथोक्तः सन् केकयः पृथीवीपतिः । तस्मै तम् वरदायार्थम् कथयामास तत्त्वतः ॥ 35.24 ॥

priyayā ca tathoktaḥ san kekayaḥ pṛthīvīpatiḥ | tasmai tam varadāyārtham kathayāmāsa tattvataḥ

Thus addressed by his beloved queen, the king of Kekaya went to that giver of the boon and told him the whole matter truthfully.

Shloka 25 (ayodhya.35.25)

ततः स वरदह् साधु राजानम् प्रत्यभाषत । म्रियताम् ध्वंसताम् वेयम् मा कृथास्त्वम् महीपते ॥ 35.25 ॥

tataḥ sa varadah sādhu rājānam pratyabhāṣata | mriyatām dhvaṃsatām veyam mā kṛthāstvam mahīpate

Then that virtuous giver of the boon replied to the king: "O king, let her die, let her be ruined if she must — but do not do as she asks."

Shloka 26 (ayodhya.35.26)

स तच्छ्रुत्वा वचस्तस्य प्रसन्नमनसो नृपः । मातरम् ते निरस्याशु विजहार कुबेरवत् ॥ 35.26 ॥

sa tacchrutvā vacastasya prasannamanaso nṛpaḥ | mātaram te nirasyāśu vijahāra kuberavat

Hearing those words of that clear-minded sage, the king at once set aside your mother, and lived on happily, like Kubera himself.

Shloka 27 (ayodhya.35.27)

तथा त्वमपि राजानम् दुर्जनाचरिते पथि । असद्ग्राहमिमम् मोहात्कुरुषे पापदर्शिनि ॥ 35.27 ॥

tathā tvamapi rājānam durjanācarite pathi | asadgrāhamimam mohātkuruṣe pāpadarśini

"So too, O you who see only evil, you now, in blind delusion, set your king upon this evil resolve, along the very path once trodden by the wicked."

Shloka 28 (ayodhya.35.28)

सत्यश्चाद्य प्रवादोऽयम् लौकिकः प्रतिभाति मा । पित्ऱ्^ऊन् समनुजायन्ते नरा मातरमङ्गनाः ॥ 35.28 ॥

satyaścādya pravādo'yam laukikaḥ pratibhāti mā | pitऱ^ūn samanujāyante narā mātaramaṅganāḥ

"Now it seems to me that this common saying has proved true: sons take after their fathers, and daughters after their mothers."

Shloka 29 (ayodhya.35.29)

नैवम् भव ग़ृहाणेदम् यदाह वसुधाधिपः । भर्तुरिच्चामुपास्वेह जनस्यास्य गतिर्भव ॥ 35.29 ॥

naivam bhava ग़ृhāṇedam yadāha vasudhādhipaḥ | bharturiccāmupāsveha janasyāsya gatirbhava

"Do not be such a one — accept what the lord of the earth has said. Follow your husband's wish, and become a refuge for these people here."

Shloka 30 (ayodhya.35.30)

मा त्वम् प्रोत्साहिता पापैर्देवराजसमप्रभम् । भर्तारम् लोकभर्तारमसद्धर्ममुपादधाः ॥ 35.30 ॥

mā tvam protsāhitā pāpairdevarājasamaprabham | bhartāram lokabhartāramasaddharmamupādadhāḥ

"Do not, incited by the wicked, cast a slur of unrighteousness upon your husband, whose splendour equals the king of the gods and who is the protector of this whole world."

Shloka 31 (ayodhya.35.31)

न हि मिथ्या प्रतिज्ञातम् करिष्यति तवानघः । श्रीमान्दशरथो राजा देवि राजीवलोचनः ॥ 35.31 ॥

na hi mithyā pratijñātam kariṣyati tavānaghaḥ | śrīmāndaśaratho rājā devi rājīvalocanaḥ

"For, O queen, the faultless, glorious, lotus-eyed King Dasharatha will surely never make his given promise to you a lie."

Shloka 32 (ayodhya.35.32)

ज्येष्ठो वदान्यः कर्मण्यः स्वधर्मपरिरक्षिता । रक्षिता जीवलोकस्य बली रामोऽभिषिच्यताम् ॥ 35.32 ॥

jyeṣṭho vadānyaḥ karmaṇyaḥ svadharmaparirakṣitā | rakṣitā jīvalokasya balī rāmo'bhiṣicyatām

"Let Rama — the eldest, the generous, the capable, the guardian of his own righteousness, the strong protector of all living beings — be crowned instead."

Shloka 33 (ayodhya.35.33)

परिवादो हि ते देवि महान्लोके चरिष्यति । यदि रामो वनम् याति विहाय पितरम् नृपम् ॥ 35.33 ॥

parivādo hi te devi mahānloke cariṣyati | yadi rāmo vanam yāti vihāya pitaram nṛpam

"For, O queen, a great infamy shall surely spread through the world about you, if Rama, forsaking his royal father, goes to the forest."

Shloka 34 (ayodhya.35.34)

स राज्यम् राघवः पातु भवत्वम् विगतज्वरा । न हि ते राघवादन्यः क्षमः पुरवरे वसेत् ॥ 35.34 ॥

sa rājyam rāghavaḥ pātu bhavatvam vigatajvarā | na hi te rāghavādanyaḥ kṣamaḥ puravare vaset

"Let Raghava alone protect this kingdom; be free of your torment. For there is none other than Raghava fit to dwell as ruler in this finest of cities."

Shloka 35 (ayodhya.35.35)

रामे हि यौवराज्यस्थे राजा दशरथो वनम् । प्रवेक्ष्यति महेष्वासः पूर्ववृत्तमनुस्मरन् ॥ 35.35 ॥

rāme hi yauvarājyasthe rājā daśaratho vanam | pravekṣyati maheṣvāsaḥ pūrvavṛttamanusmaran

"For once Rama is installed as prince-regent, King Dasharatha, the great archer, recalling the custom of his forefathers, will himself surely retire to the forest."

Shloka 36 (ayodhya.35.36)

इति सान्वैश्च तीक्ष्णै कैकेयीम् राजसंसदि । सुवन्त्रः क्षोभयामास भूय एव कृताञ्जलिः ॥ 35.36 ॥

iti sānvaiśca tīkṣṇai kaikeyīm rājasaṃsadi | suvantraḥ kṣobhayāmāsa bhūya eva kṛtāñjaliḥ

Thus, in the royal assembly, Sumantra, with joined palms, tried again and again to shake Kaikeyi, now with gentle words, now with harsh ones.

Shloka 37 (ayodhya.35.37)

नैवसाक्षुभ्यते देवी न च स्म परिदूयते । न चास्या मुखवर्णस्य विक्रिया लक्ष्यते तदा ॥ 35.37 ॥

naivasākṣubhyate devī na ca sma paridūyate | na cāsyā mukhavarṇasya vikriyā lakṣyate tadā

Yet that queen was not shaken at all, nor did she feel any remorse; nor was any change then seen in the colour of her face.