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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.67.11

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 67: Bharata rejects Kaikeyī’s scheme. He condemns the loss of his father and elder brother, refuses the Kingdom and promises to bring Rāma back

In the sequence: he says she never understood his love for Rāma, on whom the Kingdom depended

2.67.11

ahaṃ hi puruṣavyāghrāv apaśyan rāmalakṣmaṇau
kena śaktiprabhāvena rājyaṃ rakṣitum utsahe

For, not seeing those two tigers among men, Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa, by what power and might could I venture to guard the kingdom?

Words: ahaṃ — I; hi — for; puruṣavyāghrāv — the two tigers among men; apaśyan — not seeing; rāmalakṣmaṇau — Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa; kena — by what; śaktiprabhāvena — power and might; rājyaṃ — the kingdom; rakṣitum — to protect; utsahe — do I dare, am able

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.