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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.88.19

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 88: Rāma shows Sītā Citrakūṭa. Mineral-coloured peaks, fruit trees and waterfalls relieve his grief, forest life fulfils his father’s command while Bharata rules

In the sequence: he says he could live there happily for years with her and Lakṣmaṇa → forest life also allows him to fulfill his father's command and leave Bharata the Kingdom → he asks whether she too is finding contentment there

2.88.19

idam evāmṛtaṃ prāhū rājñāṃ rājarṣayaḥ pare
vanavāsaṃ bhavārthāya pretya me prapitāmahāḥ

This very forest-dwelling the supreme royal seers, my forefathers now departed, declared to be the nectar of kings, for the sake of the life hereafter.

Words: idam evāmṛtaṃ — this very nectar; prāhū — declared, called; rājñāṃ — of kings; rājarṣayaḥ — the royal seers; pare — the supreme, foremost; vanavāsaṃ — the forest-dwelling; bhavārthāya — for the sake of (future) existence; pretya — after death, having departed; me — my; prapitāmahāḥ — forefathers, great-grandsires

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.