यावन्मातरमापृच्छे सीतां चानुनयाम्यहम्।
ततोऽद्यैव गमिष्यामि दण्डकानां महद्वनम्॥
yāvan mātaram āpṛcche sītāṁ cānunayāmy aham
tato ’dyaiva gamiṣyāmi daṇḍakānāṁ mahad vanam
yāvat = as soon; mātaram = My mother; āpṛcche = I take leave of; sītām = Sītā; ca = and; anunayāmi = console; aham = I; tataḥ = as; adya eva = on this very day; gamiṣyāmi = will leave; daṇḍakānām = of Daṇḍaka; mahat = for the great; vanam = forest.
I will leave for the great forest of Daṇḍaka on this very day as soon as I take leave of My mother and console Sītā.1
1]. The second half of this verse literally means “Then I will leave for the great forest of the Daṇḍakas today itself.” The commentator notes that “Daṇḍakas” is in the plural to indicate that the great Daṇḍakāraṇya forest had several regions—it was extensive.
1 Daṇḍakāraṇya means “the forest of Daṇḍa.”
Kaikeyī had instructed Rāma to leave for Daṇḍakāraṇya immediately. Remembering that, He now requests her to grant Him some time [to meet His mother and Sītā-devī].
Daṇḍa was a son of King Ikṣvāku. When Daṇḍa’s kingdom was destroyed by a shower of dust due to the curse of Śukrācārya, it became a forest. That forest was named after Daṇḍa as Daṇḍaka.1