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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.23.33

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 23: Rāma asks Sītā to remain in Ayodhyā. Rāma reveals the exile and asks Sītā to respect Bharata’s authority, honour the Queens and care for his grieving parents

In the sequence: he asks her to regard Lakṣmaṇa and Śatrughna as a brother and a son, and to conduct herself without giving offense to Bharata.

2.23.33

aurasān api putrān hi tyajanty ahitakāriṇaḥ
samarthān saṃpragṛhṇanti janān api narādhipāḥ

Rulers of men forsake even their own-begotten sons if they act against their interest, and take to themselves able persons though unrelated.

Words: aurasān api — even own-begotten; putrān hi — sons indeed; tyajanty — they abandon; ahitakāriṇaḥ — doing harm, acting against interest; samarthān — the capable; saṃpragṛhṇanti — they take up, adopt; janān api — even (other) people; narādhipāḥ — rulers of men

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.