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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.35.37

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 35: The chariot departs. Sumitrā counsels Lakṣmaṇa, crowds and parents follow, Daśaratha calls for a halt while Rāma urges Sumantra onward

In the sequence: Daśaratha calls for the chariot to stop, while Rāma tells Sumantra to continue → unable to bear prolonging his parents' suffering, Rāma tells the driver to say he did not hear if the King later reproaches him → Sumantra drives on, and the ministers persuade Daśaratha to stop following.

2.35.37

yam icchet punar āyāntaṃ nainaṃ dūram anuvrajet
ity amātyā mahārājam ūcur daśarathaṃ vacaḥ

'One should not follow far after him whom one wishes to see come back again' — thus the ministers spoke this word to the great king Daśaratha.

Words: yam — whom; icchet — one should wish; punar — again; āyāntaṃ — coming back, returning; nainaṃ — him not; dūram — far; anuvrajet — one should follow after; ity — so, thus; amātyā — the ministers; mahārājam — to the great king; ūcur — said; daśarathaṃ — Daśaratha; vacaḥ — word

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.