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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.67.14

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.

2.67.14

atha vā me bhavec chaktir yogair buddhibalena vā
sakāmāṃ na kariṣyāmi tvām ahaṃ putragardhinīm
nivartayiṣyāmi vanād bhrātaraṃ svajanapriyam

But even were I to have the power, whether through stratagems or force of intellect, I will not grant you your wish, you who crave the throne for your son; I shall bring my brother, dear to his kinsfolk, back from the forest.

Words: atha vā — but rather, or else; me — to me; bhavec chaktir — should there be the power; yogair — by stratagems, means; buddhibalena — by force of intellect; vā — or; sakāmāṃ — having your desire fulfilled; na — not; kariṣyāmi — I will make; tvām — you; ahaṃ — I; putragardhinīm — you who crave for your son; nivartayiṣyāmi — I shall bring back; vanād — from the forest; bhrātaraṃ — my brother; svajanapriyam — dear to his own kinsfolk

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.