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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.103.19

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 appeals to the people, but they now acknowledge that Rāma's commitment to his father's word cannot readily be overturned

2.103.19

āsīnas tv eva bharataḥ paurajānapadaṃ janam
uvāca sarvataḥ prekṣya kim āryaṃ nānuśāsatha

But Bharata, still seated, looking all around at the town and country folk, said: “Why do you not urge the noble one?”

Words: āsīnas — seated; tv — but; eva — still; bharataḥ — Bharata; paurajānapadaṃ — town and country; janam — people; uvāca — said; sarvataḥ — all around; prekṣya — having looked; kim — why; āryaṃ — the noble one; nānuśāsatha — do you not urge

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.