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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.35.8

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: Sumitrā tells Lakṣmaṇa to serve Rāma attentively: he should regard Rāma as his father, Sītā as his mother, and the forest as Ayodhyā

2.35.8

rāmaṃ daśarathaṃ viddhi māṃ viddhi janakātmajām
ayodhyām aṭavīṃ viddhi gaccha tāta yathāsukham

Know Rāma to be Daśaratha, know me to be Janaka's daughter (Sītā), know the forest to be Ayodhyā; go, dear son, as you please.

Words: rāmaṃ — Rāma; daśarathaṃ — (as) Daśaratha; viddhi — know; māṃ — me; viddhi — know; janakātmajām — the daughter of Janaka (Sītā); ayodhyām — Ayodhyā; aṭavīṃ — (as) the forest; viddhi — know; gaccha — go; tāta — dear son; yathāsukham — as you please, at ease

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.