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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.99.10

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: he urges Bharata to free their father from his debt, citing Gaya's explanation that a son is called putra because he saves his father from the hell called Put → he recalls the wish for many righteous sons so that at least one may perform the ancestral rites at Gayā

2.99.10

ṛṇān mocaya rājānaṃ matkṛte bharata prabhum
pitaraṃ trāhi dharmajña mātaraṃ cābhinandaya

For my sake, Bharata, free the king, the lord, from his debt; save our father, O knower of dharma, and gladden your mother.

Words: ṛṇān — from the debt; mocaya — free, release; rājānaṃ — the king; matkṛte — for my sake; bharata — O Bharata; prabhum — the lord; pitaraṃ — the father; trāhi — save, deliver; dharmajña — O knower of dharma; mātaraṃ — the mother; cābhinandaya — and gladden, please

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.