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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.103.8

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: Rāma replies that he can never fully repay his parents' care and will not invalidate the command he accepted from his father

2.103.8

evaṃ madhuram uktas tu guruṇā rāghavaḥ svayam
pratyuvāca samāsīnaṃ vasiṣṭhaṃ puruṣarṣabhaḥ

Thus sweetly addressed by his teacher, Rāghava, that bull among men, himself replied to Vasiṣṭha seated near:

Words: evaṃ — thus; madhuram — sweetly; uktas — addressed; tu — and; guruṇā — by the guru; rāghavaḥ — Rāghava; svayam — himself; pratyuvāca — replied; samāsīnaṃ — seated near; vasiṣṭhaṃ — to Vasiṣṭha; puruṣarṣabhaḥ — the bull among men

Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki. 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.