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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.103.15

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

2.103.15

sa tu rāmam avekṣantaṃ sumantraṃ prekṣya durmanāḥ
kuśottaram upasthāpya bhūmāv evāstarat svayam

But he, disheartened, seeing Sumantra look toward Rāma, fetched kuśa-tipped grass and spread it himself upon the ground.

Words: sa — he; tu — but; rāmam — at Rāma; avekṣantaṃ — looking; sumantraṃ — Sumantra; prekṣya — having seen; durmanāḥ — disheartened; kuśottaram — topped with kuśa; upasthāpya — having brought, set out; bhūmāv — on the ground; evāstarat — indeed spread; svayam — himself

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.