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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.103.4

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: Vasiṣṭha adds that a teacher, like a father and mother, deserves obedience, and asks Rāma to heed him

2.103.4

sa te 'haṃ pitur ācāryas tava caiva paraṃtapa
mama tvaṃ vacanaṃ kurvan nātivarteḥ satāṃ gatim

I am that teacher of your father, and of you as well, O scorcher of foes; by doing my bidding you would not stray from the path of the good.

Words: sa — that; te — your (father's); 'haṃ — I; pitur — of the father; ācāryas — teacher; tava — of you; caiva — and indeed; paraṃtapa — O scorcher of foes; mama — my; tvaṃ — you; vacanaṃ — word; kurvan — doing; nātivarteḥ — you would not transgress; satāṃ — of the good; gatim — the path

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.