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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.18.16

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: Kausalyā asks Rāma to stay and fulfill his duty to her instead; she threatens to fast to death if he leaves

2.18.16

etat tu vacanaṃ śrutvā lakṣmaṇasya mahātmanaḥ
uvāca rāmaṃ kausalyā rudantī śokalālasā

But having heard this speech of the great-souled Lakṣmaṇa, Kausalyā, weeping and languishing with grief, said to Rāma:

Words: etat — this; tu — but; vacanaṃ — speech; śrutvā — having heard; lakṣmaṇasya — of Lakṣmaṇa; mahātmanaḥ — the great-souled; uvāca — said; rāmaṃ — to Rāma; kausalyā — Kausalyā; rudantī — weeping; śokalālasā — languishing with grief

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.