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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.19.16

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 19: Rāma attributes the reversal to fate. He cancels the abhiṣeka preparations and asks Lakṣmaṇa to accept Kaikeyī’s change without anger

In the sequence: he says Kaikeyī had never previously distinguished between him and Bharata, so her sudden change seems to him the work of fate

2.19.16

so 'bhiṣekanivṛttyarthaiḥ pravāsārthaiś ca durvacaiḥ
ugrair vākyair ahaṃ tasyā nānyad daivāt samarthaye

For those harsh, cruel words of hers, aimed at stopping the consecration and at my exile, I can account for by nothing other than fate.

Words: so — he, that one; 'bhiṣekanivṛttyarthaiḥ — aimed at stopping the consecration; pravāsārthaiś — aimed at exile; ca — and; durvacaiḥ — hard to utter, cruel; ugrair — harsh, fierce; vākyair — with words; ahaṃ — I; tasyā — her; nānyad — nothing else; daivāt — than fate; samarthaye — I account for, explain

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.