← 2.99.4 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 99: Rāma explains Daśaratha’s obligations · 2.99.6 →
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.99.5
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 recalls Daśaratha's promise of the Kingdom as a bride-price to Kaikeyī's father at her marriage, followed by the boons granted to Kaikeyī after the war between Devas and asuras → he treats Kaikeyī's later demands as claims their father was bound to fulfill
2.99.5
tataḥ sā saṃpratiśrāvya tava mātā yaśasvinī
ayācata naraśreṣṭhaṃ dvau varau varavarṇinī
Then your illustrious mother, of lovely complexion, having secured his pledge, asked the best of men for two boons.
Words: tataḥ — then; sā — she; saṃpratiśrāvya — having exacted his promise; tava mātā — your mother; yaśasvinī — the illustrious; ayācata — asked, begged; naraśreṣṭhaṃ — the best of men; dvau varau — two boons; varavarṇinī — of lovely complexion
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.