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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.60.13

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 60: Daśaratha’s body preserved in oil. Kausalyā blames Kaikeyī, the ministers place the body in an oil trough and await a son before cremation

In the sequence: the ministers preserve Daśaratha's body in a trough of oil and guard it, postponing cremation until his son is present

2.60.13

na tu saṃkalanaṃ rājño vinā putreṇa mantriṇaḥ
sarvajñāḥ kartum īṣus te tato rakṣanti bhūmipam

But the wise ministers did not wish to carry out the king's cremation without his son; and so they kept guarding the king's body.

Words: na tu — but not; saṃkalanaṃ — the funeral, cremation; rājño — of the king; vinā — without; putreṇa — the son; mantriṇaḥ — the ministers; sarvajñāḥ — all-knowing, wise; kartum — to do; īṣus — wished, ventured; te — they; tato — therefore, then; rakṣanti — guard, preserve; bhūmipam — the (dead) king

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.