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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.21.10

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 21: Rāma asks Kausalyā to remain with Daśaratha. Kausalyā asks to follow Rāma, he persuades her to remain and care for the grieving Daśaratha

In the sequence: he asks her to remain and care for her husband

2.21.10

yāvaj jīvati kākutsthaḥ pitā me jagatīpatiḥ
śuśrūṣā kriyatāṃ tāvat sa hi dharmaḥ sanātanaḥ

As long as Kākutstha, my father, lord of the earth, lives, so long let service be rendered him; that indeed is the eternal law.

Words: yāvaj — as long as; jīvati — lives; kākutsthaḥ — Kākutstha (Daśaratha); pitā — father; me — my; jagatīpatiḥ — lord of the earth; śuśrūṣā — obedient service; kriyatāṃ — let it be done; tāvat — so long; sa — that; hi — indeed; dharmaḥ — law, duty; sanātanaḥ — eternal

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.