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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.21.23

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 urges her to continue her duties and religious observances while awaiting his return

2.21.23

prāpsyase paramaṃ kāmaṃ mayi pratyāgate sati
yadi dharmabhṛtāṃ śreṣṭho dhārayiṣyati jīvitam

You will attain your highest wish when I have returned, if the best of dharma-upholders still holds onto his life.

Words: prāpsyase — you will attain; paramaṃ — highest; kāmaṃ — desire, wish; mayi — when I (loc. abs.); pratyāgate — have returned; sati — being (loc. abs.); yadi — if; dharmabhṛtāṃ — of the dharma-upholders; śreṣṭho — the best; dhārayiṣyati — will sustain, hold onto; jīvitam — (his) life

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.