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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.16.46
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 says he values duty above gain and would obey Kaikeyī even without a separate command from his father → he asks only to take leave of Kausalyā and speak to Sītā, and tells Kaikeyī to ensure that Bharata serves their father
2.16.46
nāham arthaparo devi lokam āvastum utsahe
viddhi mām ṛṣibhis tulyaṃ kevalaṃ dharmam āsthitam
“I am not devoted to gain, O queen, that I should care to live for the world; know me to be, like the seers, wholly devoted to dharma.
Words: nāham — I am not; arthaparo — devoted to gain; devi — O queen; lokam — the world; āvastum — to dwell in, to win; utsahe — I am eager, I venture; viddhi — know; mām — me; ṛṣibhis — with the seers; tulyaṃ — equal, alike; kevalaṃ — solely, wholly; dharmam — to dharma; āsthitam — devoted to, established in
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.