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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.19.20

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

2.19.20

sukhaduḥkhe bhayakrodhau lābhālābhau bhavābhavau
yasya kiṃ cit tathā bhūtaṃ nanu daivasya karma tat

Pleasure and pain, fear and anger, gain and loss, being and non-being—whatever befalls anyone in such a way, surely that is the work of fate.

Words: sukhaduḥkhe — pleasure and pain; bhayakrodhau — fear and anger; lābhālābhau — gain and loss; bhavābhavau — being and non-being; yasya — of whom, for anyone; kiṃ — any; cit — -soever; tathā — thus, in such a way; bhūtaṃ — become, happening; nanu — surely; daivasya — of fate; karma — work, deed; tat — that

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.