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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.24.18
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 declares that she is prepared to die rather than be separated from him → Rāma remains reluctant and begins explaining the dangers of forest life.
2.24.18
ananyabhāvām anuraktacetasaṃ tvayā viyuktāṃ maraṇāya niścitām
tvayā viyuktāṃ maraṇāya niścitām
nayasva māṃ sādhu kuruṣva yācanāṃ na te mayāto gurutā bhaviṣyati
na te mayāto gurutā bhaviṣyati
Lead me, whose heart is fixed on none but you and full of love, resolved on death if parted from you; graciously grant my entreaty—through me no burden will ever be yours.
Words: ananyabhāvām — devoted to no other; anuraktacetasaṃ — with loving heart; tvayā viyuktāṃ — separated from you; maraṇāya niścitām — resolved on death; nayasva māṃ — lead me; sādhu kuruṣva — kindly do; yācanāṃ — the entreaty; na te — not to you; mayāto — through me hence; gurutā — heaviness, burden; bhaviṣyati — will be
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.