Canto 2 -
Ayodhyā-kāṇḍa
Chapter 21: Rāma Consoles Kausalyā and Lakṣmaṇa
Text 2.21.27
त्वद्वियोगान्न मे कार्यं जीवितेन सुखेन वा।
त्वया सह मम श्रेयस्तुणानामपि भक्षणम्॥
tvad-viyogān na me kāryaṁ jīvitena sukhena vā
tvayā saha mama śreyas tṛṇānām api bhakṣaṇam
tvat-viyogāt = in Your absence; na = neither; me kāryam jīvitena = I can live; sukhena = be happy; vā = nor; tvayā saha = to be with You; mama śreyaḥ = it is better for me; tṛṇānām = grass; api = [and] simply; bhakṣaṇam = eat.
In Your absence, I can neither live nor be happy. It is better for me to be with You [and] simply eat grass.
GLOSS. Kausalyā-devī considered that without Rāma, there was no use in her being alive. She thinks that it is better for her to be with Him and eat only grass, hinting that she considers being an animal [with Rāma] to be superior to being without Him.