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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.99.12
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
2.99.12
puṃ nāmnā narakād yasmāt pitaraṃ trāyate sutaḥ
tasmāt putra iti proktaḥ pitṝn yat pāti vā sutaḥ
“Because a son saves his father from the hell named 'Put,' he is therefore called 'putra' (son) — or so called because a son protects his ancestors.”
Words: puṃ nāmnā — by the name 'Put'; narakād — from the hell; yasmāt — because, from which; pitaraṃ — the father; trāyate — saves, rescues; sutaḥ — the son; tasmāt — therefore; putra iti — 'putra' thus; proktaḥ — is called, declared; pitṝn — the ancestors; yat — because, in that; pāti vā — or protects; sutaḥ — the son
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.