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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.31.21

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 31: A throne or one more night. Daśaratha urges Rāma to take the Kingdom, then begs him to stay overnight, Rāma refuses to delay the promise

In the sequence: Rāma asks permission for all three to leave, explaining that Sītā and Lakṣmaṇa cannot be persuaded to remain → Daśaratha replies that the boons have trapped him and urges Rāma to disregard him and become King

2.31.21

anujānīhi sarvān naḥ śokam utsṛjya mānada
lakṣmaṇaṃ māṃ ca sītāṃ ca prajāpatir iva prajāḥ

Give leave to all of us, casting off your grief, O bestower of honour — to Lakṣmaṇa, to me, and to Sītā, as Prajāpati (dismisses) his creatures.”

Words: anujānīhi — give leave, permit; sarvān naḥ — all of us; śokam utsṛjya — casting off grief; mānada — O bestower of honour; lakṣmaṇaṃ — Lakṣmaṇa; māṃ ca — and me; sītāṃ ca — and Sītā; prajāpatir iva — like Prajāpati (Lord of creatures); prajāḥ — his creatures

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.