← 2.28.16 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 28: Lakṣmaṇa joins the exile · 2.28.18 →
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.28.17
Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 28: Lakṣmaṇa joins the exile. He promises service to Rāma & Sītā and retrieves the paired bows, armour, quivers and swords from their teacher
In the sequence: Rāma asks his help in distributing their possessions among brāhmaṇas, tapasvins, and dependents → first, he is to bring Vasiṣṭha's son Suyajña.
2.28.17
tam uvācātmavān rāmaḥ prītyā lakṣmaṇam āgatam
kāle tvam āgataḥ saumya kāṅkṣite mama lakṣmaṇa
Self-possessed Rāma said with affection to Lakṣmaṇa, who had come: “You have arrived at the very time I longed for, gentle Lakṣmaṇa.
Words: tam — to him; uvācātmavān — the self-possessed one said; rāmaḥ — Rāma; prītyā — with affection; lakṣmaṇam — Lakṣmaṇa; āgatam — who had come; kāle — at the time; tvam — you; āgataḥ — have come; saumya — O gentle one; kāṅkṣite — longed-for; mama — by me; lakṣmaṇa — O Lakṣmaṇa
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.