← 2.24.11 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 24: Sītā claims a share in the exile · 2.24.13 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.24.12

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 24: Sītā claims a share in the exile. She insists that a wife shares her husband’s fate and chooses forest hardship with Rāma over comfort without him

In the sequence: she promises to eat roots and fruit without becoming a burden, and looks forward to seeing rivers, mountains, and woods under his protection

2.24.12

phalamūlāśanā nityaṃ bhaviṣyāmi na saṃśayaḥ
na te duḥkhaṃ kariṣyāmi nivasantī saha tvayā

I shall always live on fruits and roots—no doubt of it; I shall cause you no trouble while dwelling with you.

Words: phalamūlāśanā — eating fruits and roots; nityaṃ — always; bhaviṣyāmi — I shall be; na saṃśayaḥ — no doubt; na te duḥkhaṃ kariṣyāmi — I shall cause you no sorrow; nivasantī — dwelling; saha tvayā — with you

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.