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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.96.26

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.

2.96.26

tato jaghanyaṃ sahitaiḥ sa mantribhiḥ purapradhānaiś ca sahaiva sainikaiḥ
janena dharmajñatamena dharmavān upopaviṣṭo bharatas tadāgrajam
janena dharmajñatamena dharmavān
upopaviṣṭo bharatas tadāgrajam

Then the righteous Bharata, together with the ministers and the city elders and the soldiers, and with people most versed in dharma, sat down behind, close to his elder brother.

Words: tato — then; jaghanyaṃ — behind, in the rear; sahitaiḥ — together with; sa — he; mantribhiḥ — with the ministers; purapradhānaiś — with the city-chiefs; ca — and; sahaiva — together with; sainikaiḥ — with the soldiers; janena — with people; dharmajñatamena — most versed in dharma; dharmavān — the righteous one; upopaviṣṭo — sat down near; bharatas — Bharata; tadāgrajam — then, [near] his elder brother

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.