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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.18.14

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 18: Resistance or obedience. Lakṣmaṇa offers force and Kausalyā asks Rāma to stay, Rāma cites ancestral precedents and upholds his father’s word

In the sequence: he promises to defeat any opposition, including Bharata's supporters, and says that wherever Rāma goes, he will go first

2.18.14

dīptam agnim araṇyaṃ vā yadi rāmaḥ pravekṣyate
praviṣṭaṃ tatra māṃ devi tvaṃ pūrvam avadhāraya

If Rāma is to enter blazing fire or the wilderness, know for certain, O queen, that I have entered there before him.

Words: dīptam — blazing; agnim — fire; araṇyaṃ — the wilderness, forest; vā — or; yadi — if; rāmaḥ — Rāma; pravekṣyate — will enter; praviṣṭaṃ — entered; tatra — there; māṃ — me; devi — O queen; tvaṃ — you; pūrvam — before, first; avadhāraya — know for certain, be assured

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.