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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.66.25

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 asks for Rāma, whom he now regards as his father and refuge, and for Daśaratha's final words

2.66.25

kva sa pāṇiḥ sukhasparśas tātasyākliṣṭakarmaṇaḥ
yena māṃ rajasā dhvastam abhīkṣṇaṃ parimārjati

“Where is that hand, sweet to the touch, of my father of untiring deeds, with which he would ever wipe me clean when I was covered with dust?”

Words: kva — where; sa — that; pāṇiḥ — hand; sukhasparśas — sweet to the touch; tātasyākliṣṭakarmaṇaḥ — of my father of untiring deeds; yena — by which; māṃ — me; rajasā — with dust; dhvastam — covered, soiled; abhīkṣṇaṃ — constantly; parimārjati — wipes clean

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.