As Rama, vanquished, wept and sighed The Vanar chieftain thus replied: "Great Prince, unmanly thoughts dismiss, Nor yield thy soul to grief like this. In vain those burning tears are shed: Our glory Lakshman is not dead. Death on his brow no mark has set, Where beauty's lustre lingers yet. Clear is the skin, and tender hues Of lotus flowers his palms suffuse. O Rama, cheer thy trembling heart; Not thus do life and body part. Now, Hanuman, to thee I speak: Hie hence to tall Mahodaya's(996) peak Where herbs of sovereign virtue grow Which life and health and strength bestow Bring thou the leaves to balm his pain, And Lakshman shall be well again."Ramayana 6.368 · Ramayana · 6
Ramayana 6.368
Ramayana · translated by Ralph T.H. Griffith
Themes in this passage
GriefLeadershipComfortDeathDharmaHealingThe SoulSpeech
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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