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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.70.15

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 70: Vivāha: The Videha lineage and the wedding date. Janaka recounts the Videha lineage and Kuśadhvaja’s accession, offers Sītā & Ūrmilā and appoints the wedding day and preparatory rites

In the sequence: after his father's death, Janaka continued ruling and protecting Kuśadhvaja

1.70.15

vṛddhe pitari svaryāte dharmeṇa dhuram āvaham
bhrātaraṃ devasaṃkāśaṃ snehāt paśyan kuśadhvajam

When my aged father had gone to heaven, I bore the yoke (of kingship) righteously, looking with affection on my brother Kuśadhvaja, who resembled a god.

Words: vṛddhe — aged (loc. abs.); pitari — father (loc. abs.); svaryāte — having gone to heaven; dharmeṇa — righteously, by dharma; dhuram — the yoke, burden; āvaham — I bore, carried; bhrātaraṃ — brother; devasaṃkāśaṃ — resembling a god; snehāt — out of affection; paśyan — looking upon; kuśadhvajam — Kuśadhvaja

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.