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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.47.21

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: he reproaches himself for bringing his mother sorrow when she had expected happiness from him

2.47.21

mā sma sīmantinī kā cij janayet putram īdṛśam
saumitre yo 'ham ambāyā dadmi śokam anantakam

Let no woman ever bear such a son as I, Saumitri, who give my mother grief without end.

Words: mā sma — let not; sīmantinī — a woman; kā cij — any; janayet — should bear; putram — a son; īdṛśam — such; saumitre — O Saumitri; yo 'ham — I who; ambāyā — to the mother; dadmi — give; śokam — grief; anantakam — endless

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.