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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.17.3

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: Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa enter Kausalyā's apartments, where she has been praying and making offerings for his welfare

2.17.3

praviśya prathamāṃ kakṣyāṃ dvitīyāyāṃ dadarśa saḥ
brāhmaṇān vedasaṃpannān vṛddhān rājñābhisatkṛtān

Passing through the first courtyard, in the second he saw brahmins versed in the Vedas, aged, honoured by the king.

Words: praviśya — having entered; prathamāṃ — the first; kakṣyāṃ — courtyard; dvitīyāyāṃ — in the second; dadarśa — saw; saḥ — he; brāhmaṇān — brahmins; vedasaṃpannān — versed in the Vedas; vṛddhān — aged; rājñābhisatkṛtān — honoured by the king

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.