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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.56.11

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 56: Kausalyā & Daśaratha reconcile. He begs her to stop deepening his pain, she apologizes and says five nights of separation have felt like five years

In the sequence: she says she knows his commitment to truth but that grief made her speak harshly

2.56.11

jānāmi dharmaṃ dharmajña tvāṃ jāne satyavādinam
putraśokārtayā tat tu mayā kim api bhāṣitam

I know dharma, O knower of dharma; I know you to be a speaker of truth. But that unbecoming word was uttered by me, stricken as I am with grief for my son.

Words: jānāmi — I know; dharmaṃ — dharma; dharmajña — O knower of dharma; tvāṃ — you; jāne — I know; satyavādinam — a truth-speaker; putraśokārtayā — by (me) afflicted with grief for a son; tat — that; tu — but; mayā — by me; kim api — something (unbecoming); bhāṣitam — was spoken

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.