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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.73.8

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 respectfully walks around the ceremonial vessels but refuses: in their family the eldest should rule

2.73.8

rāmaḥ pūrvo hi no bhrātā bhaviṣyati mahīpatiḥ
ahaṃ tv araṇye vatsyāmi varṣāṇi nava pañca ca

For Rāma, our elder brother, shall be lord of the earth; and I will dwell in the forest for fourteen years.

Words: rāmaḥ — Rāma; pūrvo — elder, senior; hi — for; no — our; bhrātā — brother; bhaviṣyati — shall be; mahīpatiḥ — lord of the earth; ahaṃ tv — but I; araṇye — in the forest; vatsyāmi — I will dwell; varṣāṇi — years; nava — nine; pañca ca — and five (i.e. fourteen)

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.