← 2.16.32 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 16: Rāma accepts fourteen years of exile · 2.16.34 →
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.16.33
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: Rāma accepts immediately → he says that what hurts him is his father's inability to tell him directly: he would willingly give Bharata the Kingdom and everything else.
2.16.33
ahaṃ hi sītāṃ rājyaṃ ca prāṇān iṣṭān dhanāni ca
hṛṣṭo bhrātre svayaṃ dadyāṃ bharatāyāpracoditaḥ
“For gladly, and unprompted, would I of my own accord give to my brother Bharata—Sītā, the kingdom, my cherished life, and my wealth.
Words: ahaṃ — I; hi — for; sītāṃ — Sītā; rājyaṃ — the kingdom; ca — and; prāṇān — my life, breath; iṣṭān — cherished, dear; dhanāni — wealth; ca — and; hṛṣṭo — gladly, delighted; bhrātre — to my brother; svayaṃ — of my own accord; dadyāṃ — I would give; bharatāyāpracoditaḥ — to Bharata, unprompted
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.