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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.1.9

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 1: Daśaratha proposes Rāma as heir. With Bharata & Śatrughna in Kekaya, Daśaratha weighs Rāma’s fitness to rule and summons an assembly

In the sequence: the brothers are warmly received there, but continue to think of their father; Daśaratha also misses them

2.1.9

sarva eva tu tasyeṣṭāś catvāraḥ puruṣarṣabhāḥ
svaśarīrād vinirvṛttāś catvāra iva bāhavaḥ

All four of those bulls among men were indeed dear to him, like four arms sprung from his own body.

Words: sarva eva — all indeed; tu — but, and; tasyeṣṭāś — dear to him; catvāraḥ — four; puruṣarṣabhāḥ — bulls among men; svaśarīrād — from his own body; vinirvṛttāś — sprung forth, come out; catvāra iva — like four; bāhavaḥ — arms

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.