← 2.97.8 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 97: Bharata offers Rāma the Kingdom · 2.97.10 →
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.97.9
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: he asks Rāma to accept his hereditary Kingdom for the sake of the people, the widowed Queens, and his brother
2.97.9
imāḥ prakṛtayaḥ sarvā vidhavā māturaś ca yāḥ
tvat sakāśam anuprāptāḥ prasādaṃ kartum arhasi
All these subjects, and the widowed queen-mothers who have come into your presence — to them you should show grace.
Words: imāḥ — these; prakṛtayaḥ — subjects; sarvā — all; vidhavā — widowed; māturaś ca yāḥ — and the mothers who; tvat sakāśam — to your presence; anuprāptāḥ — have come; prasādaṃ — grace; kartum arhasi — you should show
Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki. 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.