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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.42.22

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

2.42.22

na hi pravrajite rāme jīviṣyati mahīpatiḥ
mṛte daśarathe vyaktaṃ vilopas tadanantaram

For once Rāma has gone into exile the king will not live, and when Daśaratha is dead, ruin will plainly follow thereafter.

Words: na — not; hi — for, indeed; pravrajite — when (he) has gone forth; rāme — Rāma; jīviṣyati — will live; mahīpatiḥ — the king; mṛte — dead; daśarathe — Daśaratha; vyaktaṃ — clearly, plainly; vilopas — ruin, breakdown; tadanantaram — thereafter

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.