केवलं पुष्पषण्डेषु नगरोपवनेषु च । उद्यानवनकुञ्जेषु सदैव परिशीलितः
He has only ever been accustomed to flower gardens, city groves, and the thickets of parks and woods.
विहर्तुम् एष जानाति सह राजकुमारकैः । कीर्णपुष्पोपकारासु स्वकास्व् अजिरभूमिषु
He knows how to play with the royal princes, in his own courtyards adorned with scattered flowers.
अद्य त्व् अतितरां ब्रह्मन् मम भाग्यविपर्ययात् । हिमेनेवाहतः पद्मस् सम्पन्नो हरितः कृशः
Today, O Brahman, by a reversal of my fortune, I am like a lotus struck by frost: once flourishing and green, now withered and frail.
नात्तुम् अन्नानि शक्नोति न विहर्तुं गृहावनौ । अन्तःखेदपरीतात्मा तूष्णीं तिष्ठति केवलम्
He cannot eat food, nor enjoy himself at home or outdoors; his heart is overwhelmed with inner distress, and he sits in silence, doing nothing.
सदारस् सहभृत्यो ऽहं तत्कृते मुनिनायक । शरदीव पयोवाहो नूनं निस्सहतां गतः
With my wife and attendants, O chief of sages, I too have become utterly helpless on his account, like a raincloud in autumn.
ईदृशो ऽसौ सुतो बाल आधिना विवशीकृतः । कथं ददामि तं तुभ्यं योद्धुं सह निशाचरैः
Such is my son, a mere boy, rendered powerless by sorrow—how can I give him to you to fight against the night-dwelling demons?
अपि बालाङ्गनासङ्गाद् अपि साधो सुधारसात् । राज्याद् अपि सुखायैष पुत्रस्नेहो महामते
O wise one, the love for a son brings happiness greater than that from the company of young women, from the taste of nectar, or even from sovereignty.
ये दुरन्ता महारम्भास् त्रिषु लोकेषु खेददाः । पुत्रस्नेहेन सन्तो ऽपि कुर्वते ते न संश्रयम्
Even those who are content do not undertake the most difficult and exhausting endeavors in the three worlds, but for the sake of love for a son, they do not hesitate.
असवो ऽथ धनं दारास् त्यज्यन्ते मानवैस् सुखम् । न पुत्रा मुनिशार्दूल स्वभावो ह्य् एष जन्तुषु
People may easily give up their lives, wealth, or wives, O best of sages, but not their sons—such is the nature of living beings.
राक्षसाः क्रूरकर्माणः कूटयुद्धविशारदाः । रामस् तान् योधयत्व् इत्थम् उक्तिर् एवातिदुस्सहा
The very thought that Rama should fight those demons—cruel in deed and skilled in deceitful warfare—is utterly unbearable.