731. Dasaratha says, “You listened to my cruel words
and left quickly, leaving this kingdom
with its victorious elephants, chariots and horses
and went to the forest.
Your lovely wife, decorated with ornaments,
her long eyes like spears smeared with oil,
and your younger brother Lakshmana followed you.
How could you walk in that cruel forest?
O our Rāma! You are my dear lord.
What can I do?”
Word by Word (WBW) meaning
(The words may be rearranged to facilitate conversion from poetry to prose (Aṉvayam). Please read the meanings (in black) continuously to form the sentence and understand the simplified meaning based on the Divyārtha Dīpikai for the verse.)
In this deeply moving pāsuram, the Āzhvār poignantly expresses the unbearable sorrow of Daśaratha Chakravarthi. He laments the heart-wrenching sight of his beloved son, Śrī Rāma, the very embodiment of righteousness, renouncing the entirety of His royal inheritance. With the divine mother, Sīthā Pirātti, and the ever-loyal Lakṣmaṇa faithfully