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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.19.18

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

2.19.18

yad acintyaṃ tu tad daivaṃ bhūteṣv api na hanyate
vyaktaṃ mayi ca tasyāṃ ca patito hi viparyayaḥ

That fate which is beyond thought cannot be thwarted even among living beings; plainly a reversal has fallen upon me and upon her.

Words: yad — which; acintyaṃ — unthinkable, beyond thought; tu — but; tad — that; daivaṃ — fate; bhūteṣv — among living beings; api — even; na — not; hanyate — is thwarted, struck down; vyaktaṃ — plainly, clearly; mayi — upon me; ca — and; tasyāṃ — upon her; ca — and; patito — fallen; hi — indeed; viparyayaḥ — reversal, overturning

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.