Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 97: Bharata offers Rāma the Kingdom · 2.97.2 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.97.1

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 97: Bharata offers Rāma the Kingdom. Rāma absolves him of blame but insists that both brothers honour their father’s division between Kingdom and forest

In the sequence: Rāma asks why Bharata has abandoned the Kingdom and come dressed as a tapasvin

2.97.1

taṃ tu rāmaḥ samāśvāsya bhrātaraṃ guruvatsalam
lakṣmaṇena saha bhrātrā praṣṭuṃ samupacakrame

But Rāma, having comforted that brother of his who was devoted to their elders, together with his brother Lakṣmaṇa set about to question him.

Words: taṃ — him; tu — but; rāmaḥ — Rāma; samāśvāsya — having comforted; bhrātaraṃ — brother; guruvatsalam — devoted to elders; lakṣmaṇena saha — together with Lakṣmaṇa; bhrātrā — with his brother; praṣṭuṃ — to question; samupacakrame — set about, began

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.