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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.42.16

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 42: The citizens return to Ayodhyā without Rāma. Families reproach the men for returning without Rāma and imagine abandoning Kaikeyī’s Kingdom to join him

In the sequence: some urge another attempt to follow, proposing that the men serve Rāma and the women attend Sītā

2.42.16

yuṣmākaṃ rāghavo 'raṇye yogakṣemaṃ vidhāsyati
sītā nārījanasyāsya yogakṣemaṃ kariṣyati

Rāghava will provide for your welfare in the wilderness, and Sītā will see to the welfare of this company of women.

Words: yuṣmākaṃ — your, for you; rāghavo — Rāghava; 'raṇye — in the forest; yogakṣemaṃ — welfare, security; vidhāsyati — will provide, arrange; sītā — Sītā; nārījanasyāsya — of this company of women; yogakṣemaṃ — welfare; kariṣyati — will do, see to

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.