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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.58.21

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 58: The curse and Daśaratha’s death. The youth’s father condemns him to die grieving for a son, Daśaratha recalls the curse and dies calling for Rāma

In the sequence: the father said that the prince's ignorance and voluntary confession had spared him an immediate, greater punishment → he asked to be led to his son

2.58.21

ajñānād dhi kṛtaṃ yasmād idaṃ tenaiva jīvasi
api hy adya kulaṃ nasyād rāghavāṇāṃ kuto bhavān

'But since this was done out of ignorance, for that very reason you live; else today the line of the Rāghavas would perish — how much more you!'

Words: ajñānād — out of ignorance; dhi — indeed; kṛtaṃ — done; yasmād — because; idaṃ — this; tenaiva — for that very reason; jīvasi — you live; api hy — even indeed; adya — today; kulaṃ — the line, family; nasyād — would perish; rāghavāṇāṃ — of the Rāghavas; kuto — how much more (whence); bhavān — you (honorific)

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.