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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.24.16

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 says even heaven would not please her without him

2.24.16

svarge 'pi ca vinā vāso bhavitā yadi rāghava
tvayā mama naravyāghra nāhaṃ tam api rocaye

And even if a dwelling in heaven itself should fall to me without you, Rāghava, O tiger among men, I would not care even for that.

Words: svarge 'pi ca — and even in heaven; vinā — without; vāso — a dwelling; bhavitā — shall be; yadi — if; rāghava — O Rāghava; tvayā — you (i.e. without you); mama — mine; naravyāghra — O tiger among men; nāhaṃ — not I; tam api — even that; rocaye — I desire, care for

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.