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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.66.30

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: Kaikeyī says the King died calling for Rāma, Sītā, and Lakṣmaṇa and speaking of their future return

2.66.30

imāṃ tu paścimāṃ vācaṃ vyājahāra pitā tava
kāla dharmaparikṣiptaḥ pāśair iva mahāgajaḥ

“This last word your father uttered, encompassed by the law of Time as a great elephant is caught by snares:”

Words: imāṃ — this; tu — indeed; paścimāṃ — last; vācaṃ — word; vyājahāra — uttered; pitā — father; tava — your; kāla — of Time; dharmaparikṣiptaḥ — encompassed by the law (of death); pāśair — by snares; iva — like; mahāgajaḥ — a great elephant

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.