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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.98.47

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 98: Bharata’s appeal and Rāma’s answer. Bharata asks him to restore the Kingdom, Rāma teaches the inevitability of loss, separation and death

In the sequence: Bharata admires Rāma's steadiness but argues that a good son should correct a father's harmful decision → he rejects Kaikeyī's action and asks Rāma to rescue the family and people from its consequences

2.98.47

dharmabandhena baddho 'smi tenemāṃ neha mātaram
hanmi tīvreṇa daṇḍena daṇḍārhāṃ pāpakāriṇīm

I am bound by the bond of dharma; therefore I do not here slay this mother of mine with harsh punishment, evil-doer though she be and deserving of it.

Words: dharmabandhena — by the bond of dharma; baddho 'smi — I am bound; tenemāṃ — therefore this; neha — not here; mātaram — mother; hanmi — I slay; tīvreṇa daṇḍena — with harsh punishment; daṇḍārhāṃ — deserving of punishment; pāpakāriṇīm — the evil-doer (fem.)

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.