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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.73.12

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 73: Bharata’s plan to restore Rāma. He refuses the prepared abhiṣeka, orders its materials taken to the forest and commissions a road for the expedition

In the sequence: he offers to spend the fourteen years in exile himself → he directs workers to prepare the route, with scouts and guards along it

2.73.12

na sakāmā kariṣyāmi svam imāṃ mātṛgandhinīm
vane vatsyāmy ahaṃ durge rāmo rājā bhaviṣyati

I will not fulfill the desire of this one who is my mother in name only; I will dwell in the harsh forest, and Rāma shall be king.

Words: na — not; sakāmā — her desire fulfilled; kariṣyāmi — I will make; svam — my own; imāṃ — this; mātṛgandhinīm — mother in name only (having but the semblance of a mother); vane — in the forest; vatsyāmy — I will dwell; ahaṃ — I; durge — harsh, impassable; rāmo — Rāma; rājā — king; bhaviṣyati — shall be

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.