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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.16.23

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: she recounts the two boons and tells him that Bharata will receive the Kingdom while he must spend fourteen years in Daṇḍaka, dressed as a tapasvin

2.16.23

yadi satyapratijñaṃ tvaṃ pitaraṃ kartum icchasi
ātmānaṃ ca narareṣṭha mama vākyam idaṃ śṛṇu

“If you wish to make your father true to his promise, and yourself too, O best of men, then hear this word of mine.

Words: yadi — if; satyapratijñaṃ — true to his promise; tvaṃ — you; pitaraṃ — your father; kartum — to make; icchasi — you wish; ātmānaṃ — yourself; ca — and; narareṣṭha — O best of men; mama — my; vākyam — word; idaṃ — this; śṛṇu — hear

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.