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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.94.57

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 94: Rāma questions Bharata’s governance. He asks after the family, advisers, spies, troop provisions, water, revenue and impartial justice, still unaware of Daśaratha’s death

In the sequence: he asks whether the young, old, physicians, guests, and religious communities receive care and respect → he warns against falsehood, anger, negligence, laziness, and other failures of rule, and reminds Bharata to share his comforts rather than enjoy them alone.

2.94.57

ekacintanam arthānām anarthajñaiś ca mantraṇam
niścitānām anārambhaṃ mantrasyāparilakṣaṇam

deliberating alone on affairs, taking counsel with men ignorant of them, failure to launch what has been decided, and the failure to keep counsel secret;

Words: ekacintanam — deliberating alone; arthānām — of affairs; anarthajñaiś — with those ignorant of affairs; ca — and; mantraṇam — taking counsel; niścitānām — of things decided; anārambhaṃ — the non-undertaking; mantrasyāparilakṣaṇam — the failure to keep counsel secret

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.