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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.17.18

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 17: Birth and upbringing of the princes; Viśvāmitra’s arrival. Daśaratha’s four sons are born and grow devoted in pairs, Viśvāmitra arrives and receives the King’s promise to fulfil his request

In the sequence: Lakṣmaṇa is inseparable from him, like a second life outside his body: Rāma will neither sleep nor eat without him, and Lakṣmaṇa guards him on hunting expeditions → Bharata and Śatrughna are equally devoted to each other. Delighted with his sons, Daśaratha begins discussing their marriages with his teachers and relatives

1.17.18

yadā hi hayam ārūḍho mṛgayāṃ yāti rāghavaḥ
tadainaṃ pṛṣṭhato 'bhyeti sadhanuḥ paripālayan

For whenever Rāghava, mounted on a horse, went hunting, then (Lakṣmaṇa) would follow behind him, bow in hand, guarding him.

Words: yadā — whenever; hi — for, indeed; hayam — a horse; ārūḍho — mounted; mṛgayāṃ — the hunt; yāti — goes; rāghavaḥ — Rāghava (Rāma); tadainaṃ — then him; pṛṣṭhato — behind; 'bhyeti — follows, comes after; sadhanuḥ — bow in hand; paripālayan — guarding, protecting

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.