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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.10.39
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: he says he could surrender his Kingdom or his life but cannot live without Rāma → he begs Kaikeyī to change her mind and falls toward her feet.
2.10.39
tiṣṭhel loko vinā sūryaṃ sasyaṃ vā salilaṃ vinā
na tu rāmaṃ vinā dehe tiṣṭhet tu mama jīvitam
The world might endure without the sun, or the crops without water, but without Rāma my life would not remain in my body.
Words: tiṣṭhel — might endure; loko — the world; vinā — without; sūryaṃ — the sun; sasyaṃ — the crops; vā — or; salilaṃ — water; vinā — without; na — not; tu — but; rāmaṃ — Rāma; vinā — without; dehe — in the body; tiṣṭhet — would remain; tu — indeed; mama — my; jīvitam — life
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.