Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 99: Rāma explains Daśaratha’s obligations · 2.99.2 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.99.1

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 99: Rāma explains Daśaratha’s obligations. The marriage pledge and wartime boons bind the succession, Bharata & Śatrughna must govern while Rāma & Lakṣmaṇa remain in the forest

In the sequence: Rāma acknowledges that Bharata's appeal is worthy of their family

2.99.1

punar evaṃ bruvāṇaṃ tu bharataṃ lakṣmaṇāgrajaḥ
pratyuvaca tataḥ śrīmāñ jñātimadhye 'tisatkṛtaḥ

Then the glorious elder brother of Lakṣmaṇa (Rāma), highly honoured in the midst of his kinsmen, replied to Bharata, who was speaking thus once more:

Words: punar — again; evaṃ — thus; bruvāṇaṃ — speaking; tu — but, and; bharataṃ — to Bharata; lakṣmaṇāgrajaḥ — the elder brother of Lakṣmaṇa (Rāma); pratyuvaca — replied; tataḥ — then; śrīmāñ — the glorious one; jñātimadhye — in the midst of his kinsmen; 'tisatkṛtaḥ — highly honoured

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.