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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.1.19

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 1: Nārada recounts Rāma’s life. Vālmīki asks whether anyone possesses all the virtues he names, Nārada identifies Rāma and recounts his story

In the sequence: Kaikeyī invokes the boon previously promised to her, asking for Rāma's exile and Bharata's abhiṣeka → bound by his word, Daśaratha sends Rāma away → Rāma obeys, and Lakṣmaṇa and Sītā follow him

1.1.19

jyeṣṭhaṃ śreṣṭhaguṇair yuktaṃ priyaṃ daśarathaḥ sutam
yauvarājyena saṃyoktum aicchat prītyā mahīpatiḥ

his eldest son, endowed with the finest virtues, beloved — King Daśaratha, lord of the earth, out of affection wished to invest with the office of crown prince.

Words: jyeṣṭhaṃ — the eldest; śreṣṭhaguṇair yuktaṃ — endowed with the finest virtues; priyaṃ — beloved; daśarathaḥ — Daśaratha; sutam — son; yauvarājyena — with the office of crown prince; saṃyoktum — to join, invest; aicchat — wished; prītyā — out of affection; mahīpatiḥ — the lord of the earth

Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki, the ādikavi of the ādikāvya: the first poet of the first poem. Sanskrit: The Vālmīki-Rāmāyaṇa: Critical Edition, Oriental Institute, Baroda, 1960–1975 (gen. eds. G. H. Bhatt, U. P. Shah); IAST from GRETIL (Göttingen). Translation and word glosses: Claude Opus 4.6–4.7; summaries and sequences: ChatGPT Astra (machine-made). Numbering follows the Critical Edition, not the vulgate (e.g. Gita Press, valmikiramayan.net), so sarga and verse numbers can differ from those editions.