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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.53.18

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: he begs Sumantra either to bring Rāma back or take him to his son

2.53.18

sūta yady asti te kiṃ cin mayāpi sukṛtaṃ kṛtam
tvaṃ prāpayāśu māṃ rāmaṃ prāṇāḥ saṃtvarayanti mām

'Charioteer, if ever I have done you any kindness, take me swiftly to Rāma; my life-breaths are hurrying me on.'

Words: sūta — O charioteer; yady asti — if there is; te — for you; kiṃ cin — any; mayāpi — by me even; sukṛtaṃ — kindness, good deed; kṛtam — done; tvaṃ — you; prāpayāśu — swiftly bring, lead; māṃ — me; rāmaṃ — to Rāma; prāṇāḥ — the life-breaths; saṃtvarayanti — hurry, urge on; mām — me

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.