← 2.20.35 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 20: Lakṣmaṇa opposes fate with effort

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.20.36

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 20: Lakṣmaṇa opposes fate with effort. He offers to overcome every obstacle by force, Rāma wipes away his tears but remains bound to the promise

In the sequence: he asks Rāma to name the enemy and give the order → Rāma instead wipes away his tears and repeats that he is resolved to honor their father's word.

2.20.36

vimṛjya bāṣpaṃ parisāntvya cāsakṛt sa lakṣmaṇaṃ rāghavavaṃśavardhanaḥ
uvāca pitrye vacane vyavasthitaṃ nibodha mām eṣa hi saumya satpathaḥ

Wiping away his tears and soothing Lakṣmaṇa again and again, Rāma, augmenter of the Rāghava line, said: "Know me to be firmly set upon our father's word; for this, gentle one, is the path of the good."

Words: vimṛjya — having wiped away; bāṣpaṃ — tears; parisāntvya — having soothed, consoled; cāsakṛt — and repeatedly; sa — he; lakṣmaṇaṃ — Lakṣmaṇa; rāghavavaṃśavardhanaḥ — augmenter of the Rāghava line; uvāca — said; pitrye — of the father, paternal; vacane — upon the word; vyavasthitaṃ — firmly established, resolved; nibodha — know, understand; mām — me; eṣa — this; hi — for; saumya — O gentle one; satpathaḥ — the path of the good

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.