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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.10.40

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.

2.10.40

tad alaṃ tyajyatām eṣa niścayaḥ pāpaniścaye
api te caraṇau mūrdhnā spṛśāmy eṣa prasīda me

So enough! Let this resolve be abandoned, O you of sinful resolve. See, I even touch your feet with my head — be gracious to me!

Words: tad — therefore; alaṃ — enough; tyajyatām — let (it) be abandoned; eṣa — this; niścayaḥ — resolve; pāpaniścaye — O you of sinful resolve; api — even; te — your; caraṇau — the two feet; mūrdhnā — with (my) head; spṛśāmy — I touch; eṣa — here I (do); prasīda — be gracious; me — to me

Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki. 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.