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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.99.11

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

2.99.11

śrūyate hi purā tāta śrutir gītā yaśasvinī
gayena yajamānena gayeṣv eva pitṝn prati

For it is heard, dear one, that long ago a glorious sacred verse was sung by Gaya while performing sacrifice at Gayā, concerning the ancestors:

Words: śrūyate hi — for it is heard; purā — of old; tāta — dear one; śrutir — a sacred saying, verse; gītā — sung; yaśasvinī — glorious; gayena — by Gaya; yajamānena — while sacrificing; gayeṣv eva — at Gayā itself; pitṝn prati — concerning the ancestors

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.