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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.99.17
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
2.99.17
tvaṃ rājā bhava bharata svayaṃ narāṇāṃ vanyānām aham api rājarāṇ mṛgāṇām
gaccha tvaṃ puravaram adya saṃprahṛṣṭaḥ saṃhṛṣṭas tv aham api daṇḍakān pravekṣye
You, Bharata, be king of men yourself; and I too shall be king of the wild beasts. Go today, well pleased, to the best of cities; and I too, delighted, shall enter the Daṇḍakas.
Words: tvaṃ — you; rājā — king; bhava — become, be; bharata — O Bharata; svayaṃ — yourself; narāṇāṃ — of men; vanyānām — of the forest (creatures); aham api — I too; rājarāṇ — king; mṛgāṇām — of the beasts; gaccha tvaṃ — go you; puravaram — to the best of cities; adya — today; saṃprahṛṣṭaḥ — well pleased; saṃhṛṣṭas tv — and delighted; aham api — I too; daṇḍakān — the Daṇḍaka (forests); pravekṣye — shall enter
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.