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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.96.24

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 96: The mothers reach Rāma’s hut. Kausalyā grieves over Daśaratha’s humble offering, the mothers greet Rāma, Lakṣmaṇa & Sītā and the assembly gathers

In the sequence: Rāma honors Vasiṣṭha, and the family, ministers, and elders sit together → everyone waits to hear Bharata's appeal.

2.96.24

bruvantyām evam ārtāyāṃ jananyāṃ bharatāgrajaḥ
pādāv āsādya jagrāha vasiṣṭhasya sa rāghavaḥ

While his grief-stricken mother was speaking thus, that Rāghava, the elder brother of Bharata, approached and clasped Vasiṣṭha's feet.

Words: bruvantyām — while speaking; evam — thus; ārtāyāṃ — grief-stricken; jananyāṃ — the mother; bharatāgrajaḥ — the elder brother of Bharata; pādāv — the two feet; āsādya — having approached; jagrāha — clasped; vasiṣṭhasya — of Vasiṣṭha; sa — he; rāghavaḥ — Rāghava

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.