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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.99.14

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

2.99.14

evaṃ rājarṣayaḥ sarve pratītā rājanandana
tasmāt trāhi naraśreṣṭha pitaraṃ narakāt prabho

Thus all the royal seers are firmly convinced, O delight of kings; therefore, O best of men, save our father from hell, O lord.

Words: evaṃ — thus; rājarṣayaḥ — the royal seers; sarve — all; pratītā — are convinced, hold it established; rājanandana — O delight of kings; tasmāt — therefore; trāhi — save, deliver; naraśreṣṭha — O best of men; pitaraṃ — the father; narakāt — from hell; prabho — O lord

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.