Upanishads · Rāma-tāpanī Pūrva 4.33
॥
Devanāgarī
भरताधस्तु सुग्रीवं शत्रुघ्नाधो बिभीषणम् । पश्चिमे लक्ष्मणं तस्य धृतच्छ्रत्रं सचामरम्
Transliteration (IAST)
bharatādhastu sugrīvaṃ śatrughnādho bibhīṣaṇam | paścime lakṣmaṇaṃ tasya dhṛtacchratraṃ sacāmaram
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
भरताधः तु सुग्रीवम्bharatādhaḥ tu sugrīvamand below Bharata — Sugrīva; beneath Bharata Sugrīva
शत्रुघ्नाधः बिभीषणम्śatrughnādhaḥ bibhīṣaṇambelow Śatrughna — Vibhīṣaṇa; beneath Śatrughna Vibhīṣaṇa
पश्चिमे लक्ष्मणम् तस्यpaścime lakṣmaṇam tasyain the west — Lakṣmaṇa his; behind him Lakṣmaṇa
धृतच्छत्रम् सचामरम्dhṛtacchatram sacāmaramholding the parasol, with the fly-whisk; with the umbrella and the cāmara
Translation
Below Bharata — Sugrīva, below Śatrughna — Vibhīṣaṇa, and in the west — Lakṣmaṇa, holding the parasol and the fly-whisk.
Version
39ab7eeb72ea · published Jul 29, 2026, 5:15:19 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The circle widens, and into it enter two who by birth are strangers to Rāma: a monkey and a rākṣasa.
Sugrīva is set below Bharata, Vibhīṣaṇa below Śatrughna. That is, the allies are placed directly beneath the brothers, in one row with the royal kin.
Both are those to whom Rāma gave kingdoms, and both came to Him as exiles from their own brothers. Their place in the diagram says: the one who has come becomes one's own.
And Lakṣmaṇa is behind, dhṛta-cchatra sa-cāmara: with the parasol and the fly-whisk.
This deserves weighing. Lakṣmaṇa is the brother, the warrior, the one who in the tenth verse stood on the right with the bow and made up the first triangle. Here he is with a fly-whisk behind the back.
The change is no demotion. The parasol and the cāmara are the emblems of royal dignity, and they are held not by a servant but by the nearest one. In the forest a bow was needed; in the assembly — one who stands at the shoulder.
All those named before, then, are with Him — but each differently: one listens in front, some rule at the sides, one serves behind.