← 2.99.17 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 99: Rāma explains Daśaratha’s obligations · 2.99.19 →
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.99.18
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: Bharata will have the royal parasol, Rāma the shade of forest trees → with one brother helping each of them, all four can preserve Daśaratha's word.
2.99.18
chāyāṃ te dinakarabhāḥ prabādhamānaṃ varṣatraṃ bharata karotu mūrdhni śītām
eteṣām aham api kānanadrumāṇāṃ chāyāṃ tām atiśayinīṃ sukhaṃ śrayiṣye
Let the parasol, warding off the sun's rays, cast cool shade upon your head, Bharata; while I too shall happily resort to that surpassing shade of these forest trees.
Words: chāyāṃ — shade; te — for you; dinakarabhāḥ — the sun's rays; prabādhamānaṃ — warding off; varṣatraṃ — the parasol (rain-shield); bharata — O Bharata; karotu — let it make, cast; mūrdhni — on the head; śītām — cool; eteṣām — of these; aham api — I too; kānanadrumāṇāṃ — of the forest trees; chāyāṃ tām — that shade; atiśayinīṃ — surpassing, excellent; sukhaṃ — happily, in comfort; śrayiṣye — shall resort to
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.