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Valmiki Ramayana 2.8.8

Vālmīkirāmāyaṇa 2.8.8

Language
Sanskrit

2.8.8

bhrātṝn bhṛtyāṃś ca dīrghāyuḥ pitṛvat pālayiṣyati
saṃtapyase kathaṃ kubje śrutvā rāmābhiṣecanam

As thus the maid in wrath complained,
Kaikeyí saw her heart was pained,
And answered eager in defence
Of Ramá's worth and excellence:
'Nay, Ráma, born the monarch's heir,
By holy fathers trained with care,
Virtuous, grateful, pure, and true,
Claims royal sway as rightly due.
He, like a sire, will long defend
Each brother, minister, and friend.
Then why, O hump-back, art thou pained
To hear that he the throne has gained?
Be sure when Ráma's empire ends,
The kingdom to my son descends,
Who, when a hundred years are flown,
Shall sit upon his fathers' throne.
Why is thine heart thus sad to see
The joy that is and long shall be,
This fortune by possession sure
And hopes which we may count secure?
Dear as the darling son I bore
Is Ráma, yea, or even more.
Most duteous to Kaus'alyá, he
Is yet more dutiful to me.
What though he rule, we need not fear:
His brethren to his soul are dear.
And if the throne Prince Ráma fill
Bharat will share the empire still.'

Ralph T. H. Griffith 1870, The Rámáyan of Válmíki, translated into English verse

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Other recensions (2)