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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.67.13

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 refuses to fulfill her wish even if he could bear the burden of rule → he declares that he will bring Rāma back from the forest.

2.67.13

so 'haṃ katham imaṃ bhāraṃ mahādhuryasamudyatam
damyo dhuram ivāsādya saheyaṃ kena caujasā

How then could I, taking up this burden fit only for a mighty draught-ox, bear it — like an untamed bullock set to the yoke — and by what strength?

Words: so 'haṃ — I; katham — how; imaṃ — this; bhāraṃ — burden, load; mahādhuryasamudyatam — raised up for a mighty draught-animal; damyo — a young ox yet to be tamed; dhuram — the yoke; ivāsādya — as if having come up to; saheyaṃ — could I bear; kena — by what; caujasā — and strength

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.