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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.71.21

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 71: Daśaratha’s remaining rites. Bharata performs śrāddha and distributes gifts, the brothers grieve over the ashes and bones, Vasiṣṭha & Sumantra help them complete their duties

In the sequence: Vasiṣṭha raises and comforts Bharata, while Sumantra does the same for Śatrughna → reminded that death is unavoidable, they recover enough to complete the remaining duties.

2.71.21

tataḥ prakṛtimān vaidyaḥ pitur eṣāṃ purohitaḥ
vasiṣṭho bharataṃ vākyam utthāpya tam uvāca ha

Then Vasiṣṭha, self-possessed and learned, the family priest of their father, having raised Bharata up, spoke these words to him:

Words: tataḥ — then; prakṛtimān — self-possessed, of steady nature; vaidyaḥ — the learned one; pitur — of their father; eṣāṃ — of these (their); purohitaḥ — the family priest; vasiṣṭho — Vasiṣṭha; bharataṃ — Bharata; vākyam — words; utthāpya — having raised up; tam — him; uvāca — spoke; ha — indeed

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.