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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.89.17
Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 89: Rāma invites Sītā into the Mandākinī. He urges her to bathe and regard the mountain as Ayodhyā, the river as Sarayū and its animals as citizens
In the sequence: he asks her to think of the animals as their fellow citizens, the mountain as Ayodhyā, and the river as the Sarayū → with Sītā and Lakṣmaṇa beside him, he says he does not long for the Kingdom.
2.89.17
upaspṛśaṃs triṣavaṇaṃ madhumūlaphalāśanaḥ
nāyodhyāyai na rājyāya spṛhaye 'dya tvayā saha
Performing my ablutions thrice a day, feeding on honey, roots, and fruit, together with you I long today neither for Ayodhyā nor for the kingdom.
Words: upaspṛśaṃs — performing ablutions, touching water; triṣavaṇaṃ — thrice a day (at the three pressings); madhumūlaphalāśanaḥ — feeding on honey, roots, and fruit; nāyodhyāyai — not for Ayodhyā; na rājyāya — nor for the kingdom; spṛhaye — I long, yearn; 'dya — today; tvayā saha — together with you
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.