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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.10.3

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 10: Kaikeyī claims the two boons. Bound by his promise, Daśaratha hears her demands for Bharata’s abhiṣeka and Rāma’s exile, then collapses and pleads

In the sequence: Daśaratha comes to share the happy news with Kaikeyī and finds her lying on the floor

2.10.3

sa vṛddhas taruṇīṃ bhāryāṃ prāṇebhyo 'pi garīyasīm
apāpaḥ pāpasaṃkalpāṃ dadarśa dharaṇītale

That aged, sinless king beheld on the ground his young wife, dearer to him than his own life, yet harbouring sinful intent.

Words: sa — that; vṛddhas — aged; taruṇīṃ — young; bhāryāṃ — wife; prāṇebhyo — than (his) life-breaths; 'pi — even; garīyasīm — dearer, weightier; apāpaḥ — sinless; pāpasaṃkalpāṃ — of sinful resolve; dadarśa — beheld; dharaṇītale — on the surface 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.