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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.28.5

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: Lakṣmaṇa replies that Bharata will honor both women and that Kausalyā has a thousand villages for her support—enough, he says, to maintain a thousand men like himself

2.28.5

evam uktas tu rāmeṇa lakṣmaṇaḥ ślakṣṇayā girā
pratyuvāca tadā rāmaṃ vākyajño vākyakovidam

Thus addressed by Rāma with gentle words, Lakṣmaṇa, skilled in speech, then replied to Rāma, who was himself expert in speech:

Words: evam uktas — thus addressed; tu — and; rāmeṇa — by Rāma; lakṣmaṇaḥ — Lakṣmaṇa; ślakṣṇayā — gentle, soft; girā — with speech; pratyuvāca — replied; tadā — then; rāmaṃ — to Rāma; vākyajño — knower of speech; vākyakovidam — expert in speech

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.