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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.53.17

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 53: Daśaratha’s remorse. Sumantra describes the horses’ reluctance and the country’s grief, Daśaratha regrets his uncounselled decision and begs to see Rāma

In the sequence: Daśaratha admits that he acted under Kaikeyī's influence without consulting his ministers, friends, or subjects

2.53.17

bhavitavyatayā nūnam idaṃ vā vyasanaṃ mahat
kulasyāsya vināśāya prāptaṃ sūta yadṛcchayā

'Surely, by destiny, this great calamity has come, charioteer, by chance, for the destruction of this line.'

Words: bhavitavyatayā — by destiny, by what was fated; nūnam — surely; idaṃ — this; vā — indeed, or; vyasanaṃ — calamity; mahat — great; kulasyāsya — of this family; vināśāya — for the destruction; prāptaṃ — come, arrived; sūta — O charioteer; yadṛcchayā — by chance

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.