← 2.45.3 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 45: Lakṣmaṇa keeps watch beside the Gaṅgā · 2.45.5 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.45.4

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 45: Lakṣmaṇa keeps watch beside the Gaṅgā. Guha offers to guard the camp, Lakṣmaṇa refuses a bed and stays awake fearing the deaths of their grieving parents

In the sequence: he assures him of his love for Rāma, knowledge of the terrain, and ability to defend them

2.45.4

na hi rāmāt priyataro mamāsti bhuvi kaś cana
bravīmy etad ahaṃ satyaṃ satyenaiva ca te śape

'For there is no one on earth dearer to me than Rāma; this I speak truly, and by that very truth I swear it to you.'

Words: na hi — for not; rāmāt — than Rāma; priyataro — dearer; mamāsti — is to me; bhuvi — on earth; kaś cana — anyone; bravīmy — I say; etad — this; ahaṃ — I; satyaṃ — truly, as truth; satyenaiva — by truth itself; ca — and; te — to you; śape — I swear

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.