← 2.18.16 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 18: Resistance or obedience · 2.18.18 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.18.17

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

2.18.17

bhrātus te vadataḥ putra lakṣmaṇasya śrutaṃ tvayā
yad atrānantaraṃ tat tvaṃ kuruṣva yadi rocate

"You have heard, my son, your brother Lakṣmaṇa speaking; do now what follows from this, if it pleases you.

Words: bhrātus — of your brother; te — your; vadataḥ — speaking; putra — O son; lakṣmaṇasya — of Lakṣmaṇa; śrutaṃ — heard; tvayā — by you; yad — what; atrānantaraṃ — hereupon, next after this; tat — that; tvaṃ — you; kuruṣva — do; yadi — if; rocate — it pleases

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.