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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.46.43

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 46: Rāma crosses the Gaṅgā. He sends Sumantra back as proof of departure, forms matted locks with banyan sap and crosses while Sītā prays

In the sequence: he offers to serve them in the forest and bring them home when the exile ends

2.46.43

tava śuśrūṣaṇaṃ mūrdhnā kariṣyāmi vane vasan
ayodhyāṃ devalokaṃ vā sarvathā prajahāmy aham

'Dwelling in the forest, I shall render you service with my head bowed; Ayodhyā, or even the world of the gods, I wholly renounce.'

Words: tava — your; śuśrūṣaṇaṃ — service, attendance; mūrdhnā — with the head; kariṣyāmi — I shall do; vane vasan — dwelling in the forest; ayodhyāṃ — Ayodhyā; devalokaṃ vā — or the world of the gods; sarvathā — altogether, wholly; prajahāmy aham — I renounce, give up

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.