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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.12.23
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.
2.12.23
iti sūto matiṃ kṛtvā harṣeṇa mahatā punaḥ
nirjagāma mahātejā rāghavasya didṛkṣayā
So the charioteer, having made up his mind, again with great joy, the mighty one set out with a desire to see the Rāghava.
Words: iti — thus; sūto — the charioteer; matiṃ — the mind, resolve; kṛtvā — having made; harṣeṇa — with joy; mahatā — great; punaḥ — again; nirjagāma — set out, went forth; mahātejā — the greatly splendid one; rāghavasya — of the Rāghava (Rāma); didṛkṣayā — with the desire to see
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.