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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.66.42

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 admits that Rāma did nothing wrong: she obtained the Kingdom for Bharata and the exile for Rāma, after which Daśaratha died of grief → she tells Bharata to perform the funeral and take the throne, expecting gratitude for what she has done.

2.66.42

sa svavṛttiṃ samāsthāya pitā te tat tathākarot
rāmaś ca sahasaumitriḥ preṣitaḥ saha sītayā

“Holding to his own course of conduct, your father did just that; and Rāma, together with Saumitri, was sent away along with Sītā.”

Words: sa — he; svavṛttiṃ — his own conduct; samāsthāya — having taken his stand on; pitā — father; te — your; tat — that; tathākarot — did so; rāmaś ca — and Rāma; sahasaumitriḥ — together with Saumitri; preṣitaḥ — sent away; saha sītayā — with Sītā

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.