The Fable of Surabhi's Grief

Shloka 1 (ayodhya.74.1)

तां तथा गर्हयित्वा तु मातरं भरतस्तदा। रोषेण महताविष्टः पुनरेवाब्रवीद्वचः॥ 74.1 ॥

tāṃ tathā garhayitvā tu mātaraṃ bharatas tadā| roṣeṇa mahatāviṣṭaḥ punar evābravīd vacaḥ

Having thus rebuked his mother, Bharata, seized once more by towering rage, spoke these further words.

Shloka 2 (ayodhya.74.2)

राज्याद्भ्रंशस्व कैकेयि नृशंसे दुष्टचारिणि। परित्यक्ता च धर्मेण मां मृतं रुदती भव॥ 74.2 ॥

rājyād bhraṃśasva kaikeyi nṛśaṃse duṣṭacāriṇi| parityaktā ca dharmeṇa māṃ mṛtaṃ rudatī bhava

May you be stripped of this kingdom, Kaikeyi, cruel and vile in conduct! Cast out from righteousness, live on to weep over me when I am dead.

Shloka 3 (ayodhya.74.3)

किं नु तेऽदूषयद्राजा रामो वा भृशधार्मिकः। ययोर्मृत्युर्विवासश्च त्वत्कृते तुल्यमागतौ॥ 74.3 ॥

kiṃ nu te'dūṣayad rājā rāmo vā bhṛśadhārmikaḥ| yayor mṛtyur vivāsaś ca tvatkṛte tulyam āgatau

What wrong, indeed, did the king ever do you, or the deeply righteous Rama, that death and exile should both descend upon them together, because of you?

Shloka 4 (ayodhya.74.4)

भ्रूणहत्यामसि प्राप्ता कुलस्यास्य विनाशनात्। कैकेयि नरकं गच्छ मा च भर्तुः सलोकताम्॥ 74.4 ॥

bhrūṇahatyām asi prāptā kulasyāsya vināśanāt| kaikeyi narakaṃ gaccha mā ca bhartuḥ salokatām

By destroying this house, you have incurred the sin of killing an unborn child. Go to hell, Kaikeyi — and may you never share the world your husband has gone to.

Shloka 5 (ayodhya.74.5)

यत्त्वया हीदृशं पापं कृतं घोरेण कर्मणा। सर्वलोकप्रियं हित्वा ममाप्यापादितं भयम्॥ 74.5 ॥

yat tvayā hīdṛśaṃ pāpaṃ kṛtaṃ ghoreṇa karmaṇā| sarvalokapriyaṃ hitvā mamāpy āpāditaṃ bhayam

By this dreadful act you have committed so terrible a sin — casting away one beloved of the whole world — that you have struck even me with dread.

Shloka 6 (ayodhya.74.6)

त्वत्कृते मे पिता वृत्तो रामश्चारण्यमाश्रितः। अयशो जीवलोके च त्वयाहं प्रतिपादितः॥ 74.6 ॥

tvatkṛte me pitā vṛtto rāmaś cāraṇyam āśritaḥ| ayaśo jīvaloke ca tvayāhaṃ pratipāditaḥ

Because of you my father is dead, and Rama has taken refuge in the forest. It is you who has branded me with disgrace throughout this living world.

Shloka 7 (ayodhya.74.7)

मातृरूपे ममामित्रे नृशंसे राज्यकामुके। न तेऽहमभिभाष्योऽस्मि दुर्वृत्ते पतिघातिनि॥ 74.7 ॥

mātṛrūpe mamāmitre nṛśaṃse rājyakāmuke| na te'ham abhibhāṣyo'smi durvṛtte patighātini

You who wear a mother's form yet are my enemy — cruel, greedy for a kingdom, vile in conduct, slayer of your own husband — I ought never to have spoken with you at all.

Shloka 8 (ayodhya.74.8)

कौसल्या च सुमित्रा च याश्चान्या मम मातरः। दुःखेन महताविष्टास्त्वां प्राप्य कुलदूषिणीम्॥ 74.8 ॥

kausalyā ca sumitrā ca yāś cānyā mama mātaraḥ| duḥkhena mahatāviṣṭās tvāṃ prāpya kuladūṣiṇīm

Kausalya, Sumitra, and all my other mothers have, because of you, the defiler of our house, been plunged into overwhelming sorrow.

Shloka 9 (ayodhya.74.9)

न त्वमश्वपतेः कन्या धर्मराजस्य धीमतः। राक्षसी तत्र जातासि कुलप्रध्वंसिनी पितुः॥ 74.9 ॥

na tvam aśvapateḥ kanyā dharmarājasya dhīmataḥ| rākṣasī tatra jātāsi kulapradhvaṃsinī pituḥ

You cannot be the daughter of the wise and righteous king Ashvapati. You must have been born there as a demoness, sent to bring ruin upon my father's line.

Shloka 10 (ayodhya.74.10)

यत्त्वया धार्मिको रामो नित्यं सत्यपरायणः। वनं प्रस्थापितो दुःखात्पिता च त्रिदिवं गतः॥ 74.10 ॥

yat tvayā dhārmiko rāmo nityaṃ satyaparāyaṇaḥ| vanaṃ prasthāpito duḥkhāt pitā ca tridivaṃ gataḥ

For it was you who sent the righteous Rama, ever devoted to truth, into the forest — and it was that grief which sent my father to the world beyond.

Shloka 11 (ayodhya.74.11)

यत्प्रधानासि तत्पापं मयि पित्रा विना कृते। भ्रातृभ्यां च परित्यक्ते सर्वलोकस्य चाप्रिये॥ 74.11 ॥

yat pradhānāsi tat pāpaṃ mayi pitrā vinā kṛte| bhrātṛbhyāṃ ca parityakte sarvalokasya cāpriye

You are the very source of that sin, which has left me fatherless, forsaken by both my brothers, and hateful in the eyes of all the world.

Shloka 12 (ayodhya.74.12)

कौसल्यां धर्मसंयुक्तां वियुक्तां पापनिश्चये। कृत्वा कं प्राप्स्यसे त्वद्य लोकं निरयगामिनि॥ 74.12 ॥

kausalyāṃ dharmasaṃyuktāṃ viyuktāṃ pāpaniścaye| kṛtvā kaṃ prāpsyase tvadya lokaṃ nirayagāmini

O woman fixed on sin — having torn righteous Kausalya from her son, what world do you imagine you will reach now, you who are bound straight for hell?

Shloka 13 (ayodhya.74.13)

किं नावबुध्यसे क्रूरे नियतं बन्धुसंश्रयम्। ज्येष्ठं पितृसमं रामं कौसल्यायात्मसंभवम्॥ 74.13 ॥

kiṃ nāvabudhyase krūre niyataṃ bandhusaṃśrayam| jyeṣṭhaṃ pitṛsamaṃ rāmaṃ kausalyāyātmasaṃbhavam

Do you not know, cruel woman, that Rama, Kausalya's own son — self-controlled, the eldest, a father to his kin — has always been the sure refuge of his relatives?

Shloka 14 (ayodhya.74.14)

अङ्गप्रत्यङ्गजः पुत्रो हृदयाच्चापि जायते। तस्मात्प्रियतरो मातुः प्रियत्वान्न तु बान्धवः॥ 74.14 ॥

aṅgapratyaṅgajaḥ putro hṛdayāc cāpi jāyate| tasmāt priyataro mātuḥ priyatvān na tu bāndhavaḥ

A son is born not only of a mother's limbs, but of her very heart as well; that is why he is dearer to her than anyone — dearer than any other kinsman could ever be.

Shloka 15 (ayodhya.74.15)

अन्यदा किल धर्मज्ञा सुरभिः सुरसम्मता। वहमानौ ददर्शोर्व्यां पुत्रौ विगतचेतसौ॥ 74.15 ॥

anyadā kila dharmajñā surabhiḥ surasammatā| vahamānau dadarśorvyāṃ putrau vigatacetasau

It is said that once, the righteous cow Surabhi, honored among the gods, saw her two sons on this earth, dragging a heavy load, utterly spent and dazed.

Shloka 16 (ayodhya.74.16)

तावर्धदिवसे श्रान्तौ दृष्ट्वा पुत्रौ महीतले। रुरोद पुत्रशोकेन बाष्पपर्याकुलीक्षणा॥ 74.16 ॥

tāv ardhadivase śrāntau dṛṣṭvā putrau mahītale| ruroda putraśokena bāṣpaparyākulīkṣaṇā

Seeing her two sons, weary already by midday, laboring there on the ground, she wept, her eyes brimming with tears, stricken with grief for her sons.

Shloka 17 (ayodhya.74.17)

अधस्ताद्व्रजतस्तस्याः सुरराज्ञो महात्मनः। बिन्दवः पतिता गात्रे सूक्ष्माः सुरभिगन्धिनः॥ 74.17 ॥

adhastād vrajatas tasyāḥ surarājño mahātmanaḥ| bindavaḥ patitā gātre sūkṣmāḥ surabhigandhinaḥ

Below, as the noble lord of the gods was passing that way, tiny, fragrant droplets of her tears fell upon his body.

Shloka 18 (ayodhya.74.18)

इन्द्रोऽप्यश्रुनिपातं तं स्वगात्रे पुण्यगन्धिनम्। सुरभिं मन्यते दृष्ट्वा भूयसीं तां सुरेश्वरः॥ 74.18 ॥

indro'py aśrunipātaṃ taṃ svagātre puṇyagandhinam| surabhiṃ manyate dṛṣṭvā bhūyasīṃ tāṃ sureśvaraḥ

Feeling that sacred-scented rain of tears upon his own body, Indra, the lord of the gods, understood it to be the falling of the great cow Surabhi's tears.

Shloka 19 (ayodhya.74.19)

निरीक्षमाणः शक्रस्तां ददर्श सुरभिं स्थिताम्। आकाशे विष्ठितां दीनां रुदतीं भृशदुःखिताम्॥ 74.19 ॥

nirīkṣamāṇaḥ śakras tāṃ dadarśa surabhiṃ sthitām| ākāśe viṣṭhitāṃ dīnāṃ rudatīṃ bhṛśaduḥkhitām

Looking up, Shakra saw Surabhi standing there in the sky, wretched, deeply grieving, and weeping.

Shloka 20 (ayodhya.74.20)

तां दृष्ट्वा शोकसंतप्तां वज्रपाणिर्यशस्विनीम्। इन्द्रः प्राञ्जलिरुद्विग्नः सुरराजोऽब्रवीद्वचः॥ 74.20 ॥

tāṃ dṛṣṭvā śokasaṃtaptāṃ vajrapāṇir yaśasvinīm| indraḥ prāñjalir udvignaḥ surarājo'bravīd vacaḥ

Seeing that glorious cow so consumed with grief, Indra, wielder of the thunderbolt, lord of the gods, distressed, joined his palms and spoke these words.

Shloka 21 (ayodhya.74.21)

भयं कच्चिन्न चास्मासु कुतश्चिद्विद्यते महत्। कुतोनिमित्तः शोकस्ते ब्रूहि सर्वहितैषिणि॥ 74.21 ॥

bhayaṃ kaccin na cāsmāsu kutaścid vidyate mahat| kutonimittaḥ śokas te brūhi sarvahitaiṣiṇi

"I hope no great danger threatens us from any quarter. Tell me, O well-wisher of all, what is the cause of your sorrow?"

Shloka 22 (ayodhya.74.22)

एवमुक्ता तु सुरभिः सुरराजेन धीमता। प्रत्युवाच ततो धीरा वाक्यं वाक्यविशारदा॥ 74.22 ॥

evam uktā tu surabhiḥ surarājena dhīmatā| pratyuvāca tato dhīrā vākyaṃ vākyaviśāradā

Thus questioned by the wise lord of the gods, that steadfast cow, skilled in speech, made this reply.

Shloka 23 (ayodhya.74.23)

शान्तं पापं न वः किंचित्कुतश्चिदमराधिप। अहं तु मग्ना शोचामि स्वपुत्रौ विषमे स्थितौ॥ 74.23 ॥

śāntaṃ pāpaṃ na vaḥ kiṃcit kutaścid amarādhipa| ahaṃ tu magnā śocāmi svaputrau viṣame sthitau

"Peace — no evil threatens you at all, O lord of the immortals. I am simply sunk in grief, weeping, because my own two sons are in such distress —

Shloka 24 (ayodhya.74.24)

एतौ दृष्ट्वा कृशौ दीनौ सूर्यरश्मिप्रतापितौ। अर्द्यमानौ बलीवर्दौ कर्षकेण सुराधिप॥ 74.24 ॥

etau dṛṣṭvā kṛśau dīnau sūryaraśmipratāpitau| ardyamānau balīvardau karṣakeṇa surādhipa

seeing these two oxen, gaunt and pitiful, scorched by the sun's rays, and driven hard by the ploughman, O lord of the gods.

Shloka 25 (ayodhya.74.25)

मम कायात्प्रसूतौ हि दुःखितौ भारपीडितौ। यौ दृष्ट्वा परितप्येऽहं नास्ति पुत्रसमः प्रियः॥ 74.25 ॥

mama kāyāt prasūtau hi duḥkhitau bhārapīḍitau| yau dṛṣṭvā paritapye'haṃ nāsti putrasamaḥ priyaḥ

They were born of my own body, and now suffer, burdened and afflicted; seeing them, I am tormented. There is nothing so dear as a son."

Shloka 26 (ayodhya.74.26)

यस्याः पुत्रसहस्त्रैस्तु कृत्स्नं व्याप्तमिदं जगत्। तां दृष्ट्वा रुदतीं शक्रो न सुतान्मन्यते परम्॥ 74.26 ॥

yasyāḥ putrasahastrais tu kṛtsnaṃ vyāptam idaṃ jagat| tāṃ dṛṣṭvā rudatīṃ śakro na sutān manyate param

Seeing her weep — she whose thousands of offspring fill this entire world — Shakra understood that nothing surpasses a son in dearness.

Shloka 27 (ayodhya.74.27)

सदाऽप्रतिमवृत्ताया लोकधारणकाम्यया। श्रीमत्या गुणनित्यायाः स्वभावपरिचेष्टया॥ 74.27 ॥

sadā'pratimavṛttāyā lokadhāraṇakāmyayā| śrīmatyā guṇanityāyāḥ svabhāvapariceṣṭayā

That glorious cow, of matchless conduct always, ever intent on sustaining the world, forever endowed with virtue, acting so purely by her own nature —

Shloka 28 (ayodhya.74.28)

यस्याः पुत्रसहस्राणि सापि शोचति कामधुक्। किं पुनर्या विना रामं कौसल्या वर्तयिष्यति॥ 74.28 ॥

yasyāḥ putrasahasrāṇi sāpi śocati kāmadhuk| kiṃ punar yā vinā rāmaṃ kausalyā vartayiṣyati

if even that wish-granting cow, with a thousand sons, grieves so bitterly, how then shall Kausalya go on living, deprived of Rama, her only son?

Shloka 29 (ayodhya.74.29)

एकपुत्रा च साध्वी च विवत्सेयं त्वया कृता। तस्मात्त्वं सततं दुःखं प्रेत्य चेह च लप्स्यसे॥ 74.29 ॥

ekaputrā ca sādhvī ca vivatseyaṃ tvayā kṛtā| tasmāt tvaṃ satataṃ duḥkhaṃ pretya ceha ca lapsyase

You have made that virtuous woman, who had but a single son, into one bereft of a child. For this you shall reap sorrow without end, both here and in the world beyond.

Shloka 30 (ayodhya.74.30)

अहं ह्यपचितिं भ्रातुः पितुश्च सकलामिमाम्। वर्धनं यशसश्चापि करिष्यामि न संशयः॥ 74.30 ॥

ahaṃ hy apacitiṃ bhrātuḥ pituś ca sakalām imām| vardhanaṃ yaśasaś cāpi kariṣyāmi na saṃśayaḥ

I myself, without any doubt, shall pay this full debt to my brother and my father, and shall increase their glory.

Shloka 31 (ayodhya.74.31)

आनाययित्वा तनयं कौसल्याया महाद्युतिम्। स्वयमेव प्रवेक्ष्यामि वनं मुनिनिषेवितम्॥ 74.31 ॥

ānāyayitvā tanayaṃ kausalyāyā mahādyutim| svayam eva pravekṣyāmi vanaṃ muniniṣevitam

Having brought back Kausalya's radiant son, I myself shall go and enter that forest frequented by sages.

Shloka 32 (ayodhya.74.32)

न ह्यहं पापसंकल्पे पापे पापं त्वया कृतम्। शक्तो धारयितुं पौरैरश्रुकण्ठैर्निरीक्षितः॥ 74.32 ॥

na hy ahaṃ pāpasaṃkalpe pāpe pāpaṃ tvayā kṛtam| śakto dhārayituṃ paurair aśrukaṇṭhair nirīkṣitaḥ

O sinful woman, fixed on sin — watched now by citizens with tear-choked throats, I am simply unable to bear the sin that you have committed.

Shloka 33 (ayodhya.74.33)

सा त्वमग्निं प्रविश वा स्वयं वा दण्डकान्विश। रज्जुं बधान वा कण्ठे न हि तेऽन्यत्परायणम्॥ 74.33 ॥

sā tvam agniṃ praviśa vā svayaṃ vā daṇḍakān viśa| rajjuṃ badhāna vā kaṇṭhe na hi te'nyat parāyaṇam

So now, either enter the fire, or go yourself into the Dandaka forest, or tie a rope about your own neck — for there is no other refuge left for you.

Shloka 34 (ayodhya.74.34)

अहमप्यवनिं प्राप्ते रामे सत्यपराक्रमे। कृतकृत्यो भविष्यामि विप्रवासितकल्मषः॥ 74.34 ॥

aham apy avaniṃ prāpte rāme satyaparākrame| kṛtakṛtyo bhaviṣyāmi vipravāsitakalmaṣaḥ

And I too, once the truly valiant Rama regains this land, shall at last consider myself fulfilled, my guilt driven far away.

Shloka 35 (ayodhya.74.35)

इति नाग इवारण्ये तोमराङ्कुशचोदितः। पपात भुवि संक्रुद्धो निःश्वसन्निव पन्नगः॥ 74.35 ॥

iti nāga ivāraṇye tomarāṅkuśacoditaḥ| papāta bhuvi saṃkruddho niḥśvasann iva pannagaḥ

Having said this, he fell to the ground, enraged, hissing like a serpent — like a wild elephant in the forest goaded by spear and hook.

Shloka 36 (ayodhya.74.36)

संरक्तनेत्रः शिथिलाम्बरस्तदा विधूतसर्वाभरणः परंतपः। बभूव भूमौ पतितो नृपात्मजः शचीपतेः केतुरिवोत्सवक्षये॥ 74.36 ॥

saṃraktanetraḥ śithilāmbaras tadā vidhūtasarvābharaṇaḥ paraṃtapaḥ| babhūva bhūmau patito nṛpātmajaḥ śacīpateḥ ketur ivotsavakṣaye

His eyes reddened, his garments loosened, all his ornaments scattered about — the foe-scorching prince lay fallen upon the earth, like the banner of Indra taken down at the close of a festival.