Ram Beholds the King in Utter Wretchedness
Ayodhya Kanda, Doha 39
Doha 39 · Movement 2 of 2
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Ram enters and beholds the jewel of Raghu's line fallen into a condition no son has ever associated with the sovereign father before him.
Dasharatha appears so utterly wretched that Ram recoils for an instant, like an aged elephant king catching sight of a lioness. The chamber's danger is felt before its cause is known.
The doha compresses all royal reversal into one sight. The protector of Ayodhya lies unprotected, and the son summoned for coronation finds not crown or blessing but fear. Ram stands at the threshold where filial tenderness must meet a command still hidden.
The son summoned toward a crown enters instead upon the terrifying sight of his father's ruin.
Read the passage from the Manas
जाइ दीख रघुबंसमनि नरपति निपट कुसाजु।। सहमि परेउ लखि सिंघिनिहि मनहुँ बृद्ध गजराजु।।39।।
He went and beheld the jewel of the Raghu line. The king's condition was utterly wretched. He shrank back in fear, like an aged elephant-king catching sight of a lioness.