← 2.96.27 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 96: The mothers reach Rāma’s hut · 2.96.29 →
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.96.28
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.
2.96.28
kim eṣa vākyaṃ bharato 'dya rāghavaṃ praṇamya satkṛtya ca sādhu vakṣyati
itīva tasyāryajanasya tattvato babhūva kautūhalam uttamaṃ tadā
itīva tasyāryajanasya tattvato
babhūva kautūhalam uttamaṃ tadā
“What will this Bharata, bowing to Rāghava and honoring him, now fittingly say?”—such indeed was then the intense curiosity of that assembly of noble folk.
Words: kim — what; eṣa — this; vākyaṃ — word, speech; bharato — Bharata; 'dya — today; rāghavaṃ — Rāghava; praṇamya — having bowed; satkṛtya — having honored; ca — and; sādhu — fittingly, well; vakṣyati — will speak; itīva — thus indeed; tasyāryajanasya — of that assembly of noble folk; tattvato — truly; babhūva — arose, was; kautūhalam — curiosity; uttamaṃ — supreme, intense; tadā — then
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.