← 2.99.15 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 99: Rāma explains Daśaratha’s obligations · 2.99.17 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.99.16

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 tells Bharata to return with Śatrughna and govern the people, while he continues with Sītā and Lakṣmaṇa into Daṇḍaka

2.99.16

pravekṣye daṇḍakāraṇyam aham apy avilambayan
ābhyāṃ tu sahito rājan vaidehyā lakṣmaṇena ca

I too, without delay, shall enter the Daṇḍaka forest, accompanied by these two, O king — by Vaidehī and by Lakṣmaṇa.

Words: pravekṣye — I shall enter; daṇḍakāraṇyam — the Daṇḍaka forest; aham apy — I too; avilambayan — without delaying; ābhyāṃ tu sahito — accompanied by these two; rājan — O king; vaidehyā — by Vaidehī (Sītā); lakṣmaṇena ca — and by Lakṣmaṇa

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.