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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.44.22

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 44: Guha welcomes Rāma at the Gaṅgā. Rāma declines food and beds, asks for fodder for the horses and sleeps on the ground with Sītā after taking water

In the sequence: he asks only that Daśaratha's horses be fed, and Guha immediately arranges it

2.44.22

ete hi dayitā rājñaḥ pitur daśarathasya me
etaiḥ suvihitair aśvair bhaviṣyāmy aham arcitaḥ

'For these horses are dear to the king, my father Daśaratha; when these horses are well tended, I shall be honoured.'

Words: ete — these; hi — for, indeed; dayitā — dear, cherished; rājñaḥ — of the king; pitur — of the father; daśarathasya — of Daśaratha; me — my; etaiḥ — by these; suvihitair — well tended, well provided for; aśvair — horses; bhaviṣyāmy aham — I shall be; arcitaḥ — honoured

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.