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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.79.8

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 79: Guha accepts Bharata’s purpose. Bharata denies seeking Rāma’s death and asks the way to Bharadvāja, Guha offers guides and praises his refusal of the Kingdom

In the sequence: Bharata denies it: Rāma is his elder and like a father, and he has come only to bring him home

2.79.8

tam evam abhibhāṣantam ākāśa iva nirmalaḥ
bharataḥ ślakṣṇayā vācā guhaṃ vacanam abravīt

To him who spoke thus, Bharata, pure as the cloudless sky, replied to Guha in a gentle voice:

Words: tam — to him; evam — thus; abhibhāṣantam — speaking; ākāśa iva — like the sky; nirmalaḥ — spotless, pure; bharataḥ — Bharata; ślakṣṇayā — gentle, soft; vācā — with a voice; guhaṃ — to Guha; vacanam — these words; abravīt — spoke

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.