← 2.8.19 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 8: Mantharā turns Kaikeyī’s mind · 2.8.21 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.8.20

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 8: Mantharā turns Kaikeyī’s mind. Kaikeyī defends Rāma, Mantharā argues that his descendants will exclude Bharata’s line and urges Rāma’s exile

In the sequence: she contrasts Rāma's close bond with Lakṣmaṇa against Bharata's vulnerability; in the wording of this translation, she now says Kaikeyī's son should leave for the forest

2.8.20

goptā hi rāmaṃ saumitrir lakṣmaṇaṃ cāpi rāghavaḥ
aśvinor iva saubhrātraṃ tayor lokeṣu viśrutam

Saumitri is the protector of Rāma, and Rāghava likewise of Lakṣmaṇa; the brotherhood of those two is famed throughout the worlds, like that of the Aśvins.

Words: goptā hi — is the protector; rāmaṃ — Rāma; saumitrir — Saumitri (Lakṣmaṇa); lakṣmaṇaṃ cāpi — and Lakṣmaṇa too; rāghavaḥ — Rāghava (Rāma); aśvinor iva — like the two Aśvins; saubhrātraṃ — brotherly affection, brotherhood; tayor — of those two; lokeṣu — in the worlds; viśrutam — renowned, famed

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.