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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.4.23

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 4: Omens hasten the abhiṣeka. Daśaratha fixes the ceremony for the next day while Bharata is away, Rāma & Sītā must fast and sleep on darbha

In the sequence: he tells Rāma and Sītā to upavāsa, sleep on darbha grass, and have trusted friends guard them that night → he also wants to act while Bharata is away: although he trusts Bharata's character, he says that people's minds can change.

2.4.23

tasmāt tvayādya vratinā niśeyaṃ niyatātmanā
saha vadhvopavastavyā darbhaprastaraśāyinā

Therefore this night must be passed by you under a vow, self-controlled, sleeping on a bed of darbha-grass together with your wife.

Words: tasmāt — therefore; tvayādya — by you today; vratinā — under a vow, observing a vow; niśeyaṃ — this night; niyatātmanā — self-controlled; saha vadhvopavastavyā — must be spent together with (your) wife; darbhaprastaraśāyinā — sleeping on a strewing of darbha-grass

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.