Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 70: Daśaratha’s cremation · 2.70.2 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.70.1

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 70: Daśaratha’s cremation. The body is lifted from oil and carried to a fragrant-wood pyre, the family offers water in the Sarayū and begins ten days of mourning

In the sequence: Vasiṣṭha tells Bharata that the pretakārya (rites for the deceased) can no longer be delayed

2.70.1

tam evaṃ śokasaṃtaptaṃ bharataṃ kekayīsutam
uvāca vadatāṃ śreṣṭho vasiṣṭhaḥ śreṣṭhavāg ṛṣiḥ

To that Bharata, son of Kekayī, thus consumed with grief, Vasiṣṭha—best of speakers, the sage of most excellent speech—spoke.

Words: tam — him; evaṃ — thus; śokasaṃtaptaṃ — consumed with grief; bharataṃ — Bharata; kekayīsutam — son of Kekayī; uvāca — spoke; vadatāṃ — of speakers; śreṣṭho — best; vasiṣṭhaḥ — Vasiṣṭha; śreṣṭhavāg — of most excellent speech; ṛṣiḥ — the sage

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.