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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.16.4

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 bows to Daśaratha and Kaikeyī, but his father can only say his name and weep

2.16.4

tad apūrvaṃ narapater dṛṣṭvā rūpaṃ bhayāvaham
rāmo 'pi bhayam āpannaḥ padā spṛṣṭveva pannagam

Seeing that unprecedented, fearsome look of the king, Rāma too was seized with fear, like one who has touched a snake with his foot.

Words: tad — that; apūrvaṃ — unprecedented; narapater — of the king; dṛṣṭvā — having seen; rūpaṃ — form, look; bhayāvaham — fearsome, terrifying; rāmo — Rāma; 'pi — too; bhayam — fear; āpannaḥ — fell into, was seized by; padā — with the foot; spṛṣṭveva — as if having touched; pannagam — a snake

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.