← 2.12.17 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 12: Daśaratha summons Rāma · 2.12.19 →
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.12.18
Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 12: Daśaratha summons Rāma. Kaikeyī insists on the promise, Daśaratha repudiates her & Bharata, Sumantra leaves unaware of the exile
In the sequence: Kaikeyī directs Sumantra to fetch Rāma → Sumantra sees the King's distress but does not understand its cause; he leaves believing the summons concerns the abhiṣeka.
2.12.18
tataḥ sa rājā taṃ sūtaṃ sannaharṣaḥ sutaṃ prati
śokāraktekṣaṇaḥ śrīmān udvīkṣyovāca dhārmikaḥ
Then that king, his joy sunken with regard to his son, glorious and righteous, his eyes reddened with grief, looked up and said to the charioteer:
Words: tataḥ — then; sa — that; rājā — king; taṃ — that; sūtaṃ — charioteer; sannaharṣaḥ — whose joy has sunk; sutaṃ — son; prati — toward, regarding; śokāraktekṣaṇaḥ — with eyes reddened by grief; śrīmān — the glorious one; udvīkṣyovāca — having looked up, said; dhārmikaḥ — the righteous one
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.