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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.42.7
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: women reproach the men for coming back without Rāma and praise Lakṣmaṇa for staying with him
2.42.7
ekaḥ satpuruṣo loke lakṣmaṇaḥ saha sītayā
yo 'nugacchati kākutsthaṃ rāmaṃ paricaran vane
The one true man in the world is Lakṣmaṇa, together with Sītā, who follows Rāma Kākutstha, serving him in the forest.
Words: ekaḥ — the one, alone; satpuruṣo — true man, good man; loke — in the world; lakṣmaṇaḥ — Lakṣmaṇa; saha — together with; sītayā — Sītā; yo — who; 'nugacchati — follows; kākutsthaṃ — Kākutstha; rāmaṃ — Rāma; paricaran — serving, attending; vane — in the forest
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.