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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.52.19

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 52: Sumantra reports the farewells. Rāma asks Bharata to care for the family, Lakṣmaṇa condemns the banishment and Sītā stands silently in tears

In the sequence: he then reports Lakṣmaṇa's angry questions: what offense justified the banishment, and how could the King expect the people's affection after treating Rāma this way? → Lakṣmaṇa said he now regarded Rāma as his father and protector

2.52.19

yadi pravrājito rāmo lobhakāraṇakāritam
varadānanimittaṃ vā sarvathā duṣkṛtaṃ kṛtam
rāmasya tu parityāge na hetum upalakṣaye

'If Rāma has been sent into exile, it was done from motives of greed, or on account of the granting of boons—in any case an evil deed has been done; yet in the abandonment of Rāma I can perceive no reason.'

Words: yadi — if; pravrājito — sent into exile; rāmo — Rāma; lobhakāraṇakāritam — done from motives of greed; varadānanimittaṃ — on account of the granting of boons; vā — or; sarvathā — in any case, altogether; duṣkṛtaṃ — an evil deed; kṛtam — done; rāmasya — of Rāma; tu — but, yet; parityāge — in the abandonment; na — not; hetum — reason, cause; upalakṣaye — I perceive, see

Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki. 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.