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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.47.25

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: although he could seize Ayodhyā by force, he refuses to do so at the cost of righteousness → he falls silent in tears

2.47.25

eko hy aham ayodhyāṃ ca pṛthivīṃ cāpi lakṣmaṇa
tareyam iṣubhiḥ kruddho nanu vīryam akāraṇam

For I alone, Lakṣmaṇa, if enraged, could master Ayodhyā and the whole earth too with my arrows; yet valor without cause is surely wrong.

Words: eko — alone; hy — for; aham — I; ayodhyāṃ ca — and Ayodhyā; pṛthivīṃ cāpi — and even the earth; lakṣmaṇa — O Lakṣmaṇa; tareyam — could overcome, master; iṣubhiḥ — with arrows; kruddho — if enraged; nanu — surely, yet; vīryam — valor, force; akāraṇam — without cause

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.