← 2.17.10 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 17: Kausalyā learns of Rāma’s exile · 2.17.12 →
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.17.11
Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 17: Kausalyā learns of Rāma’s exile. Rāma tells Kausalyā that Bharata will inherit and he must leave, she collapses and laments their separation
In the sequence: she welcomes him with blessings, still expecting his abhiṣeka that day
2.17.11
vṛddhānāṃ dharmaśīlānāṃ rājarṣīṇāṃ mahātmanām
prāpnuhy āyuś ca kīrtiṃ ca dharmaṃ copahitaṃ kule
May you attain the long life, the fame, and the dharma laid up in the family of the aged, righteous, great-souled royal seers.
Words: vṛddhānāṃ — of the aged; dharmaśīlānāṃ — of righteous character; rājarṣīṇāṃ — of royal seers; mahātmanām — of the great-souled; prāpnuhy — attain; āyuś — long life; ca — and; kīrtiṃ — fame; ca — and; dharmaṃ — dharma; copahitaṃ — and laid up; kule — in the family
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.