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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.98.66
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: he says ruling and maintaining a household are appropriate duties for Rāma at this stage of life → he asks Vasiṣṭha to install Rāma there in the forest and offers once again to stay if Rāma will not return → Rāma remains firm, while the gathering joins Bharata's appeal.
2.98.66
ākrośaṃ mama mātuś ca pramṛjya puruṣarṣabha
adya tatra bhavantaṃ ca pitaraṃ rakṣa kilbiṣāt
Wiping away the reproach upon me and upon my mother, O bull among men, save today too our revered father from sin.
Words: ākrośaṃ — the reproach, outcry; mama mātuś ca — of me and (my) mother; pramṛjya — having wiped away; puruṣarṣabha — O bull among men; adya — today; tatra bhavantaṃ ca — and his revered self; pitaraṃ — the father; rakṣa kilbiṣāt — save from sin
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.