← 2.100.16 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 100: Jābāli challenges the exile
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.100.17
Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 100: Jābāli challenges the exile. He questions permanent family ties, offerings to the dead and belief in the unseen, urging Rāma to accept the available Kingdom
In the sequence: he claims that religious prescriptions encourage gifts to those who teach them → he asks Rāma to trust what can be observed, set aside claims about the unseen, and accept Bharata's offer.
2.100.17
satāṃ buddhiṃ puraskṛtya sarvalokanidarśinīm
rājyaṃ tvaṃ pratigṛhṇīṣva bharatena prasāditaḥ
Deferring to the counsel of the wise, which shows the way to all the world, accept the kingdom, entreated as you are by Bharata.
Words: satāṃ buddhiṃ — the counsel of the wise; puraskṛtya — putting foremost, deferring to; sarvalokanidarśinīm — which shows the way to all the world; rājyaṃ — the kingdom; tvaṃ — you; pratigṛhṇīṣva — accept, receive; bharatena — by Bharata; prasāditaḥ — entreated, conciliated
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.