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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.47.31

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: Lakṣmaṇa says that neither he nor Sītā can live without Rāma and that his grief is overwhelming them too → reassured by their devotion, Rāma renews his resolve to complete the exile.

2.47.31

na ca sītā tvayā hīnā na cāham api rāghava
muhūrtam api jīvāvo jalān matsyāv ivoddhṛtau

Neither Sītā without you, nor I either, O Rāghava, could live even a moment — like two fish taken out of the water.

Words: na ca — and not; sītā — Sītā; tvayā — by you, without you; hīnā — deprived of; na cāham api — nor I either; rāghava — O Rāghava; muhūrtam api — even for a moment; jīvāvo — we two could live; jalān — from the water; matsyāv — the two fish; ivoddhṛtau — like (fish) drawn out

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.