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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.16.18
Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 16: Rāma accepts fourteen years of exile. Kaikeyī explains the boons, Rāma agrees, asks for Bharata’s return and leaves to speak to Kausalyā & Sītā
In the sequence: he asks Kaikeyī to explain and promises to do whatever his father requires, even at the cost of his life
2.16.18
ahaṃ hi vacanād rājñaḥ pateyam api pāvake
bhakṣayeyaṃ viṣaṃ tīkṣṇaṃ majjeyam api cārṇave
niyukto guruṇā pitrā nṛpeṇa ca hitena ca
“At the king's word I would leap even into fire, would swallow sharp poison, would drown myself in the ocean, if so directed by my father—my guru, my king, and my well-wisher.”
Words: ahaṃ — I; hi — indeed; vacanād — at the word; rājñaḥ — of the king; pateyam — I would fall, leap; api — even; pāvake — into fire; bhakṣayeyaṃ — I would eat, swallow; viṣaṃ — poison; tīkṣṇaṃ — sharp, virulent; majjeyam — I would drown, sink; api — even; cārṇave — and in the ocean; niyukto — directed, commanded; guruṇā — by my guru; pitrā — by my father; nṛpeṇa — by the king; ca — and; hitena — by my well-wisher; 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.