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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.18.21

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

2.18.21

yathaiva rājā pūjyas te gauraveṇa tathā hy aham
tvāṃ nāham anujānāmi na gantavyam ito vanam

Just as the king is to be honoured by you with reverence, so too am I; I do not give you leave—you must not go from here to the forest.

Words: yathaiva — just as; rājā — the king; pūjyas — to be honoured; te — by you; gauraveṇa — with reverence; tathā — so; hy — indeed; aham — I; tvāṃ — you; nāham — not I; anujānāmi — give leave, permit; na — not; gantavyam — to be gone, one must go; ito — from here; vanam — to the forest

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.