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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.12.21

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.

2.12.21

sumantra rāmaṃ drakṣyāmi śīghram ānaya sundaram
sa manyamānaḥ kalyāṇaṃ hṛdayena nananda ca

“Sumantra, I shall see Rāma; bring the handsome one quickly.” And he, supposing it to be something auspicious, rejoiced in his heart.

Words: sumantra — O Sumantra; rāmaṃ — Rāma; drakṣyāmi — I shall see; śīghram — quickly; ānaya — bring; sundaram — the handsome one; sa — he; manyamānaḥ — thinking, supposing; kalyāṇaṃ — something auspicious; hṛdayena — in his heart; nananda — rejoiced; ca — and

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.