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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.20.7

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 rejects Rāma's explanation: he sees deliberate manipulation disguised as duty

2.20.7

yathā daivam aśauṇḍīraṃ śauṇḍīraḥ kṣatriyarṣabhaḥ
kiṃ nāma kṛpaṇaṃ daivam aśaktam abhiśaṃsasi

Being a valiant bull among warriors, how is it that you extol impotent fate—that wretched, powerless fate?

Words: yathā — how, in that; daivam — fate; aśauṇḍīraṃ — unmanly, spiritless; śauṇḍīraḥ — valiant, spirited; kṣatriyarṣabhaḥ — the bull among warriors; kiṃ — why; nāma — indeed, forsooth; kṛpaṇaṃ — wretched, pitiful; daivam — fate; aśaktam — powerless, feeble; abhiśaṃsasi — you extol, praise

Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki. 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.