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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.98.69
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.
2.98.69
tathāpi rāmo bharatena tāmyata prasādyamānaḥ śirasā mahīpatiḥ
na caiva cakre gamanāya sattvavān matiṃ pitus tadvacane pratiṣṭhitaḥ
Even so, though the anguished Bharata entreated him with bowed head, Rāma, lord of the earth and full of resolve, did not set his mind upon returning, fixed as he was upon that command of his father.
Words: tathāpi — even so; rāmo — Rāma; bharatena — by Bharata; tāmyata — being anguished; prasādyamānaḥ — being entreated, propitiated; śirasā — with (bowed) head; mahīpatiḥ — the lord of the earth; na caiva cakre — and did not make; gamanāya — for going (back); sattvavān — full of resolve, firm; matiṃ — (his) mind; pitus — of (his) father; tadvacane — upon that command; pratiṣṭhitaḥ — fixed, established
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.