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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.19.17
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 argues that such forces are known through their effects and cannot simply be fought
2.19.17
kathaṃ prakṛtisaṃpannā rājaputrī tathāguṇā
brūyāt sā prākṛteva strī matpīḍāṃ bhartṛsaṃnidhau
How else could a princess so endowed by nature and of such virtue speak of my affliction, in her husband's very presence, like some common woman?
Words: kathaṃ — how; prakṛtisaṃpannā — endowed with good nature; rājaputrī — the princess; tathāguṇā — of such virtues; brūyāt — would speak; sā — she; prākṛteva — like a common (woman); strī — woman; matpīḍāṃ — my affliction; bhartṛsaṃnidhau — in her husband's presence
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.