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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.18.8

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 urges Rāma to take power before the decision becomes public

2.18.8

yāvad eva na jānāti kaś cid artham imaṃ naraḥ
tāvad eva mayā sādham ātmasthaṃ kuru śāsanam

While not a single man yet knows of this matter, this very moment, with me at your side, take the sovereignty firmly into your own hands.

Words: yāvad — as long as, while; eva — just; na — not; jānāti — knows; kaś — any; cid — -ever, some; artham — matter, affair; imaṃ — this; naraḥ — man; tāvad — so long, then; eva — just, this very; mayā — by me, with me; sādham — together; ātmasthaṃ — standing in yourself, in your own control; kuru — make; śāsanam — rule, sovereignty

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.