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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.21.6

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: she says she will follow him like a cow following her calf → Rāma replies that Daśaratha may not survive if she abandons him too

2.21.6

kathaṃ hi dhenuḥ svaṃ vatsaṃ gacchantaṃ nānugacchati
ahaṃ tvānugamiṣyāmi yatra putra gamiṣyasi

How indeed can a cow fail to follow her own calf as it goes away? I will follow you, my son, wherever you go.

Words: kathaṃ — how; hi — indeed; dhenuḥ — a cow; svaṃ — her own; vatsaṃ — calf; gacchantaṃ — going (away); nānugacchati — does not follow; ahaṃ — I; tvānugamiṣyāmi — will follow you; yatra — wherever; putra — O son; gamiṣyasi — you will go

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.