← 2.18.8 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 18: Resistance or obedience · 2.18.10 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.18.9

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

2.18.9

mayā pārśve sadhanuṣā tava guptasya rāghava
kaḥ samartho 'dhikaṃ kartuṃ kṛtāntasyeva tiṣṭhataḥ

With me armed with my bow guarding you at your side, Rāghava, who is able to do anything against you, who stand as if you were Death himself?

Words: mayā — by me; pārśve — at the side; sadhanuṣā — armed with a bow; tava — your; guptasya — of (you) being guarded; rāghava — O Rāghava; kaḥ — who; samartho — able; 'dhikaṃ — anything more, superior; kartuṃ — to do; kṛtāntasyeva — as if of Death, Yama; tiṣṭhataḥ — standing

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.