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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.39.5

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 39: Sumitrā comforts Kausalyā. She praises Lakṣmaṇa’s service and Sītā’s companionship and assures Kausalyā of Rāma’s return and abhiṣeka

In the sequence: Lakṣmaṇa is faithfully caring for him, and Sītā has freely chosen to share his hardships

2.39.5

vartate cottamāṃ vṛttiṃ lakṣmaṇo 'smin sadānaghaḥ
dayāvān sarvabhūteṣu lābhas tasya mahātmanaḥ

And the ever-blameless Lakṣmaṇa, compassionate to all beings, keeps up the highest conduct toward him; this is the great-souled one's own gain.

Words: vartate — behaves, keeps up; cottamāṃ — and the highest; vṛttiṃ — conduct, behaviour; lakṣmaṇo — Lakṣmaṇa; 'smin — toward him; sadānaghaḥ — ever blameless; dayāvān — compassionate; sarvabhūteṣu — toward all beings; lābhas — gain, advantage; tasya — of him, his; mahātmanaḥ — of the great-souled one

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.