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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.16.24

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

2.16.24

sa nideśe pitus tiṣṭha yathā tena pratiśrutam
tvayāraṇyaṃ praveṣṭavyaṃ nava varṣāṇi pañca ca

“Abide by your father's command, as was promised by him: the forest must be entered by you for nine years and five,

Words: sa — you (as such); nideśe — in the command; pitus — of your father; tiṣṭha — stand, abide; yathā — as; tena — by him; pratiśrutam — was promised; tvayāraṇyaṃ — the forest by you; praveṣṭavyaṃ — is to be entered; nava — nine; varṣāṇi — years; pañca — five; ca — and

Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki. 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.