← 2.16.47 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 16: Rāma accepts fourteen years of exile · 2.16.49 →
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.16.48
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
2.16.48
na hy ato dharmacaraṇaṃ kiṃ cid asti mahattaram
yathā pitari śuśrūṣā tasya vā vacanakriyā
“For there is no practice of dharma greater than this—service to one's father, or the carrying out of his word.
Words: na — not; hy — for; ato — than this; dharmacaraṇaṃ — practice of dharma; kiṃ cid — any; asti — is, exists; mahattaram — greater; yathā — as, namely; pitari — toward the father; śuśrūṣā — service, obedience; tasya — his; vā — or; vacanakriyā — the carrying out of his word
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.