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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.23.12

Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 23: Rāma prepares to fight alone. He reads the omens as signs of victory, sends Sītā & Lakṣmaṇa into a mountain cave and faces the fourteen thousand

In the sequence: he nevertheless insists on taking precautions and orders Lakṣmaṇa to escort Sītā, armed, into a secluded mountain cave → he forbids any argument or delay

3.23.12

pratikūlitum icchāmi na hi vākyam idaṃ tvayā
śāpito mama pādābhyāṃ gamyatāṃ vatsa māciram

I do not wish this word of mine to be opposed by you; you are adjured by my very feet — go, dear one, without delay.

Words: pratikūlitum — to be opposed, contradicted; icchāmi — I wish; na hi — not indeed; vākyam idaṃ — this word; tvayā — by you; śāpito — adjured, entreated on oath; mama — my; pādābhyāṃ — by (my two) feet; gamyatāṃ — let it be gone, go; vatsa — dear one, child; māciram — without delay

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.