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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.98.8

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 asks Rāma to let those who depend on him receive the benefit of his abilities and describes the welcome awaiting him in Ayodhyā

2.98.8

yathā tu ropito vṛkṣaḥ puruṣeṇa vivardhitaḥ
hrasvakena durāroho rūḍhaskandho mahādrumaḥ

Just as a tree planted and nurtured by a short man becomes a great tree, with grown trunk, hard for him to climb—

Words: yathā tu — just as; ropito — planted; vṛkṣaḥ — a tree; puruṣeṇa — by a man; vivardhitaḥ — nurtured, made to grow; hrasvakena — by a short one; durāroho — hard to climb; rūḍhaskandho — with grown trunk; mahādrumaḥ — a great tree

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.