[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Epic, Poetry, Drama & Narrative](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit) › [The Rāma story (Vālmīki and later versions)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.ramayana) › [The Rāmāyaṇa of Vālmīki](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.ramayana.valmiki) › 2.68.13 # The Rāmāyaṇa of Vālmīki 2.68.13 Vālmīkirāmāyaṇa 2.68.13 - **Language:** Sanskrit ### [2.68.13](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.ramayana.valmiki.2.68.13) kiṃ nāvabudhyase krūre niyataṃ bandhusaṃśrayam jyeṣṭhaṃ pitṛsamaṃ rāmaṃ kausalyāyātmasaṃbhavam > Thou art not As'vapati's child, > That righteous king most sage and mild, > But thou wast born a fiend, a foe > My father's house to overthrow. > Thou who hast made Kaus'alyá, pure, > Gentle, affectionate, endure > The loss of him who was her bliss-- > What worlds await thee, Queen, for this? > Was it not patent to thy sense > That Ráma was his friends' defence, > Kaus'alyá's own true child most dear, > The eldest and his father's peer? > Men in the son not only trace > The father's figure, form, and face, > But in his heart they also find > The offspring of the father's mind; > And hence, though dear their kinsmen are, > To mothers sons are dearer far. > There goes an ancient legend how > Good Surabhi, the God-loved cow, > Saw two of her dear children strain, > Drawing a plough and faint with pain. > She saw them on the earth outworn, > Toiling till noon from early morn, > And as she viewed her children's woe, > A flood of tears began to flow. > As through the air beneath her swept > The Lord of Gods, the drops she wept, > Fine, laden with delicious smell, > Upon his heavenly body fell, > And Indra lifted up his eyes > And saw her standing in the skies, > Afflicted with her sorrow's weight, > Sad, weeping, all disconsolate. > The Lord of Gods in anxious mood > Thus spoke in suppliant attitude: > 'No fear disturbs our rest, and how > Comes this great dread upon thee now? > Whence can this woe upon thee fall, > Say, gentle one who lovest all?' > — Ralph T. H. Griffith 1870, The Rámáyan of Válmíki, translated into English verse - [Previous: 2.68.12](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.ramayana.valmiki.2.68.12) - [Next: 2.68.14](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.ramayana.valmiki.2.68.14) - [Up: 2.68](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.ramayana.valmiki.2.68) ## Translations (1) - [The Rámáyan of Válmíki, translated into English verse](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.ramayana.valmiki~en-griffith.2.74.p2) — Ralph T. H. Griffith 1870, English ## Other recensions (2) - [Critical edition, Ayodhyā- and Araṇyakāṇḍa (revised e-text)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.ramayana.valmiki*crit-revised.2.68.13) — Sanskrit - [Southern recension](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.ramayana.valmiki*southern.2.68.13) — Sanskrit --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.ramayana.valmiki.2.68.13](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.ramayana.valmiki.2.68.13) · Pramāṇa