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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.103.13

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 103: Bharata attempts a fast. He spreads grass and refuses to leave, then offers to serve the exile himself, Rāma rejects substitution and promises to rule after fourteen years

In the sequence: Bharata asks Sumantra to spread grass so he can fast outside the hut until Rāma relents → when Sumantra looks to Rāma instead, Bharata spreads it himself

2.103.13

iha me sthaṇḍile śīghraṃ kuśān āstara sārathe
āryaṃ pratyupavekṣyāmi yāvan me na prasīdati

Here on the bare ground quickly spread kuśa grass for me, O charioteer; I shall sit fasting before the noble one until he relents toward me.

Words: iha — here; me — for me; sthaṇḍile — on the bare ground; śīghraṃ — quickly; kuśān — kuśa grasses; āstara — spread; sārathe — O charioteer; āryaṃ — the noble one; pratyupavekṣyāmi — I shall sit fasting before; yāvan — until; me — toward me; na — not; prasīdati — he relents

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.