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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.18.37
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 asks his mother's permission and blessing, promising to return after completing the exile.
2.18.37
tam evam uktvā sauhārdād bhrātaraṃ lakṣmaṇāgrajaḥ
uvāca bhūyaḥ kausalyāṃ prāñjaliḥ śirasānataḥ
Having thus spoken to his brother out of affection, Rāma, the elder of Lakṣmaṇa, spoke again to Kausalyā with joined palms and bowed head:
Words: tam — him; evam — thus; uktvā — having spoken; sauhārdād — out of affection; bhrātaraṃ — to his brother; lakṣmaṇāgrajaḥ — the elder brother of Lakṣmaṇa; uvāca — spoke; bhūyaḥ — again; kausalyāṃ — to Kausalyā; prāñjaliḥ — with joined palms; śirasānataḥ — with bowed head
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.