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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.16.19
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
2.16.19
tad brūhi vacanaṃ devi rājño yad abhikāṅkṣitam
kariṣye pratijāne ca rāmo dvir nābhibhāṣate
“So tell me the word, O queen—whatever the king desires; I shall do it, I promise: Rāma does not speak twice.”
Words: tad — therefore; brūhi — tell, speak; vacanaṃ — the word; devi — O queen; rājño — of the king; yad — which; abhikāṅkṣitam — is desired; kariṣye — I shall do; pratijāne — I promise; ca — and; rāmo — Rāma; dvir — twice; nābhibhāṣate — does not speak
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.