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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.107.14

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 107: Bharata establishes rule at Nandigrāma. He places Rāma’s sandals on the throne, governs in their name and wears bark and matted hair while awaiting Rāma’s return

In the sequence: at Nandigrāma he declares that the Kingdom is a trust received from his brother, to be returned when Rāma comes home

2.107.14

etad rājyaṃ mama bhrātrā dattaṃ saṃnyāsavat svayam
yogakṣemavahe ceme pāduke hemabhūṣite
tam imaṃ pālayiṣyāmi rāghavāgamanaṃ prati

“This kingdom was given to me by my brother himself, as a trust, and these gold-adorned sandals bear its welfare and safety; this very trust I shall guard until Rāghava's return.

Words: etad rājyaṃ — this kingdom; mama — to me; bhrātrā — by my brother; dattaṃ — given; saṃnyāsavat — like a trust, deposit; svayam — himself; yogakṣemavahe — bearing welfare and safety; ceme — and these; pāduke — sandals; hemabhūṣite — adorned with gold; tam imaṃ — this very (trust); pālayiṣyāmi — I shall guard; rāghavāgamanaṃ — Rāghava's coming; prati — until, toward

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.