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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.47.16

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 47: Rāma grieves and asks Lakṣmaṇa to return. Rāma fears for his parents and asks Lakṣmaṇa to return, Lakṣmaṇa refuses to leave him and steadies his resolve

In the sequence: fearing for Kausalyā and Sumitrā, he asks Lakṣmaṇa to return and protect them while he continues with Sītā

2.47.16

mā sma matkāraṇād devī sumitrā duḥkham āvaset
ayodhyām ita eva tvaṃ kāle praviśa lakṣmaṇa

Let not queen Sumitrā dwell in sorrow on my account; you, Lakṣmaṇa, go back to Ayodhyā from here in good time.

Words: mā sma — let not; matkāraṇād — on my account; devī — queen; sumitrā — Sumitrā; duḥkham — sorrow; āvaset — should dwell in; ayodhyām — to Ayodhyā; ita eva — from here; tvaṃ — you; kāle — in good time; praviśa — enter, go; lakṣmaṇa — O Lakṣmaṇa

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.