Canto 2 -
Ayodhyā-kāṇḍa
Chapter 23: Lakṣmaṇa’s Arguments
Text 2.23.1
इति ब्रुवति रामे तु लक्ष्मणोऽधःशिरा मुहुः।
श्रुत्वा मध्यं जगामेव मनसा दुःखहर्षयोः॥
iti bruvati rāme tu lakṣmaṇo ’dhaḥ-śirā muhuḥ
śrutvā madhyaṁ jagāmeva manasā duḥkha-harṣayoḥ
iti = thus; bruvati = who spoke; rāme tu = Rāma; lakṣmaṇaḥ = Lakṣmaṇa; adhaḥ-śirāḥ = with His face turned down; muhuḥ = repeatedly; śrutvā = after hearing; madhyam jagāma = totter; iva = seemed to; manasā = in His mind; duḥkha-harṣayoḥ = between distress and delight.
After hearing Rāma who spoke thus, Lakṣmaṇa, with His face turned down, seemed to repeatedly totter between distress and delight in His mind.
1 Rāma rejects these doctrines in favor of following Vedic dharma.
In the previous chapter, Lord Rāma logically established the following. Because providence is very strong, He faced a reversal in regards to His coronation but there was no need for lamentation in this regard. Dharma is the best means [to attain all human goals in this world]. Both His father’s instruction and being truthful are rooted on dharma. Because His mother instructed Rāma [to live in Ayodhyā] after His father [had instructed Him to go to the forest], Rāma should carry out her instructions later.
In this chapter, the following doctrines which had been summarized earlier by Lakṣmaṇa are again established by Him in detail: (1) Man’s effort is stronger than providence which can be acceded to by the weak, (2) One should not endeavor to attain piety when its attainment is in opposition to the attainment of prosperity or enjoyment.1
Śrī Rāma summarily states the factual conclusion in the face of these statements.
Lakṣmaṇa’s face was turned down, indicating that He disagreed with Rāma. He seemed to totter between distress and delight because He was delighted to hear that one should be firm in upholding dharma, but distressed that Rāma would abandon the kingdom. He seemed to totter thus in His mind, not in His speech. He [only] seemed to totter in His mind for He will now give up His neutral stance.