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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.18.32
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 tells Lakṣmaṇa that affection and military force cannot cancel a binding promise
2.18.32
tām evam uktvā jananīṃ lakṣmaṇaṃ punar abravīt
tava lakṣmaṇa jānāmi mayi sneham anuttamam
abhiprāyam avijñāya satyasya ca śamasya ca
Having spoken thus to his mother, he said again to Lakṣmaṇa: "I know, Lakṣmaṇa, your matchless love for me—but without understanding the true intent of truth and of self-restraint.
Words: tām — her; evam — thus; uktvā — having spoken; jananīṃ — to his mother; lakṣmaṇaṃ — to Lakṣmaṇa; punar — again; abravīt — said; tava — your; lakṣmaṇa — O Lakṣmaṇa; jānāmi — I know; mayi — for me, in me; sneham — love, affection; anuttamam — matchless; abhiprāyam — the intent, purport; avijñāya — not having understood; satyasya — of truth; ca — and; śamasya — of self-restraint, tranquillity; ca — and
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.