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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.42.18

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: they fear life under Kaikeyī and doubt Daśaratha will survive the separation

2.42.18

kaikeyyā yadi ced rājyaṃ syād adharmyam anāthavat
na hi no jīvitenārthaḥ kutaḥ putraiḥ kuto dhanaiḥ

If the kingdom should fall to Kaikeyī, lawless and as if masterless, then we have no use for life—whence sons, whence wealth?

Words: kaikeyyā — of Kaikeyī; yadi — if; ced — indeed; rājyaṃ — kingdom; syād — should be; adharmyam — unrighteous, lawless; anāthavat — as if masterless; na — not; hi — indeed; no — to us; jīvitenārthaḥ — use for life; kutaḥ — whence; putraiḥ — with sons; kuto — whence; dhanaiḥ — with wealth

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.