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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.40.5

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 40: The citizens follow to the Tamasā. Rāma asks them to support Bharata, then leaves his chariot to walk beside the elderly brāhmaṇas

In the sequence: Rāma asks them to transfer their affection to Bharata, obey him, and help prevent Daśaratha from grieving

2.40.5

avekṣamāṇaḥ sasnehaṃ cakṣuṣā prapibann iva
uvāca rāmaḥ snehena tāḥ prajāḥ svāḥ prajā iva

Gazing on them fondly, as though drinking them in with his eyes, Rāma spoke lovingly to those subjects as if they were his own children:

Words: avekṣamāṇaḥ — gazing upon; sasnehaṃ — affectionately, with love; cakṣuṣā — with the eye; prapibann — drinking in; iva — as if, like; uvāca — said, spoke; rāmaḥ — Rāma; snehena — with affection; tāḥ — those; prajāḥ — subjects, people; svāḥ — his own; prajā — children, offspring; iva — as if, like

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.