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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.70.8
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: Bharata grieves over the decisions made during his absence and asks who will now protect the Kingdom
2.70.8
yogakṣemaṃ tu te rājan ko 'smin kalpayitā pure
tvayi prayāte svas tāta rāme ca vanam āśrite
Who now, O king, will provide for welfare and safety in this city, once you have departed to heaven, father, and Rāma has taken to the forest?
Words: yogakṣemaṃ — welfare and security (gain and its keeping); tu — but, now; te — your; rājan — O king; ko — who; 'smin — in this; kalpayitā — will provide, arrange; pure — city; tvayi — you; prayāte — having departed; svas — to heaven; tāta — father, dear one; rāme — Rāma; ca — and; vanam — the forest; āśrite — having resorted to
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.