Chapter 20 — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 20

Valmiki Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda

Verse 20.43

इदं तु दु:खं यदनर्थकानि मे व्रतानि दानानि च संयमाश्च हि। तपश्च तप्तं यदपत्यकाम्यया सुनिष्फलं बीजमिवोप्तमूषरे॥

idaṃ tu du:khaṃ yadanarthakāni me vratāni dānāni ca saṃyamāśca hi| tapaśca taptaṃ yadapatyakāmyayā suniṣphalaṃ bījamivoptamūṣare||

English Meaning

This distresses me that all my religious vows, alms giving, self-restraint and austerity, performed with a view of obtaining a son, have been fruitless, like to the seeds thrown on a barren soil.

M.N. Dutt (1891–94, public domain)