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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.66.21

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 66: Kaikeyī’s disclosure. Bharata learns that Daśaratha died calling for the exiles, Kaikeyī admits arranging Rāma’s banishment and urges him to claim the throne

In the sequence: he explains that he had expected the summons to concern Rāma's abhiṣeka or a sacrifice, and asks what illness killed their father → still unaware of the exile, he assumes Rāma and the others were present to perform the funeral

2.66.21

abhiṣekṣyati rāmaṃ tu rājā yajñaṃ nu yakṣyati
ity ahaṃ kṛtasaṃkalpo hṛṣṭo yātrām ayāsiṣam

“'The king will consecrate Rāma, or perform a sacrifice' — thinking thus, resolved and glad, I made my journey.”

Words: abhiṣekṣyati — will consecrate; rāmaṃ — Rāma; tu — indeed; rājā — the king; yajñaṃ — a sacrifice; nu — surely, or; yakṣyati — will offer; ity — thus; ahaṃ — I; kṛtasaṃkalpo — with resolve made; hṛṣṭo — glad; yātrām — journey; ayāsiṣam — I undertook

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.