← 2.31.28 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 31: A throne or one more night · 2.31.30 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.31.29

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 declines the delay and asks that Bharata receive the Kingdom without further grief

2.31.29

prāpsyāmi yān adya guṇān ko me śvastān pradāsyati
apakramaṇam evātaḥ sarvakāmair ahaṃ vṛṇe

“Whatever advantages I would gain today, who will grant me those tomorrow? Therefore, above all pleasures, I choose only departure.

Words: prāpsyāmi — I shall obtain; yān adya guṇān — which advantages today; ko me — who to me; śvastān — those tomorrow; pradāsyati — will give; apakramaṇam evātaḥ — therefore only departure; sarvakāmair — above all pleasures; ahaṃ vṛṇe — I choose

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.