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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.31.32

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: he reassures his father that preserving his truth matters more than Kingship, pleasure, or life, and that he will find happiness among the forest's rivers and mountains.

2.31.32

naivāhaṃ rājyam icchāmi na sukhaṃ na ca maithilīm
tvām ahaṃ satyam icchāmi nānṛtaṃ puruṣarṣabha

I desire neither the kingdom, nor pleasure, nor even the Maithilī; I wish you to be true, not false, O bull among men.

Words: naivāhaṃ — not I; rājyam icchāmi — desire the kingdom; na sukhaṃ — nor pleasure; na ca maithilīm — nor the Maithilī; tvām ahaṃ — you I; satyam icchāmi — wish (to be) true; nānṛtaṃ — not false; puruṣarṣabha — O bull among men

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.