He heard the words Vasishtha spoke, And slumbering resolution woke. Then skilled in all the laws declare, He bade his friends the rites prepare. They raised the body from the oil, And placed it, dripping, on the soil; Then laid it on a bed, whereon Wrought gold and precious jewels shone. There, pallor o'er his features spread, The monarch, as in sleep, lay dead. Then Bharat sought his father's side, And lifted up his voice and cried: "O King, and has thy heart designed To part and leave thy son behind? Make Rama flee, who loves the right, And Lakshman of the arm of might? Whither, great Monarch, wilt thou go And leave this people in their woe, Mourning their hero, wild with grief, Of Rama reft, their lion chief? Ah, who will guard the people well Who in Ayodhya's city dwell, When thou, my sire, hast sought the sky, And Rama has been forced to fly? In widowed woe, bereft of thee, The land no more is fair to see: The city, to my aching sight, Is gloomy as a moonless night."Ramayana 2.405 · Ramayana · 2
Ramayana 2.405
Ramayana · translated by Ralph T.H. Griffith
Themes in this passage
GriefChildrenFamilyFriendshipLeadershipLoveNatureProtection
Grief in other traditions
The same theme, as Christianity, Buddhism, Taoism and Islam address it.
Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.James 4:9 · Bible · James
From pleasure comes grief, from pleasure comes fear; he who is free from pleasure knows neither grief nor fear.Dhp 16.212 · Dhammapada · Pleasure
On occasions of festivity to be on the left hand is the prized position; on occasions of mourning, the right hand. The second in command of the army has his place on the left; the general commanding in chief has his on the right;--his place, that is, is assigned to him as in the rites of mourning. He who has killed multitudes of men should weep for them with the bitterest grief; and the victor in battle has his place (rightly) according to those rites.Tao Te Ching 31.3 · Tao Te Ching
And he turned away from them and said: Alas, my grief for Joseph! And his eyes were whitened with the sorrow that he was suppressing.Quran 12:84 · Quran · Joseph
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