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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.17.24

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 explains that she had endured neglect as a wife by hoping for happiness through her son, but now fears humiliation and isolation among her co-wives

2.17.24

tvayi saṃnihite 'py evam aham āsaṃ nirākṛtā
kiṃ punaḥ proṣite tāta dhruvaṃ maraṇam eva me

Even while you were near, I was thus slighted; how much more when you are gone away, my child? Surely death alone awaits me.

Words: tvayi — while you (loc.); saṃnihite — near, present (loc.); 'py — even; evam — thus; aham — I; āsaṃ — was; nirākṛtā — slighted, rejected; kiṃ punaḥ — how much more; proṣite — when (you are) gone away (loc.); tāta — my child, dear; dhruvaṃ — surely; maraṇam — death; eva — alone; me — for me

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.