स चेद्राजन्यनेकाग्रे राज्यविभ्रमशङ्कया।
नैवमिच्छसि धर्मात्मन्राज्यं राम त्वमात्मनि॥
प्रतिजाने च ते वीर माभूवं वीरलोकभाक्।
राज्यं च तव रक्षेयमहं वेलेव सागरम्॥
sa ced rājany anekāgre rājya-vibhrama-śaṅkayā
naivam icchasi dharmātman rājyaṁ rāma tvam ātmani
pratijāne ca te vīra mābhūvaṁ vīra-lokabhāk
rājyaṁ ca tava rakṣeyam ahaṁ veleva sāgaram
saḥ1 cet = if; rājani = at a time when King Daśaratha; aneka-agre = is disturbed and unsettled in mind; rājya-vibhrama-śaṅkayā = are afraid that various turmoils might arise in the kingdom by taking charge of it and therefore; na = not; evam = such; icchasi = You do want; dharma-ātman = of a dhārmika mind; rājyam = a kingdom; rāma = Rāma; tvam = You; ātmani = for Yourself; pratijāne = I promise that; ca = and; te = You; vīra = heroic; mā abhūvam = otherwise I will not be; vīra-lokabhāk = a member of the community of heroes [in warfare]; rājyam ca = kingdom; tava = Your; rakṣeyam = will protect; aham = I; velā = the shore; iva = like; sāgaram = [that protects] the ocean.
Heroic Rāma of a dhārmika mind, at a time when King Daśaratha is disturbed and unsettled in mind, if You are afraid that various turmoils might arise in the kingdom by taking charge of it and therefore You do not want such a kingdom for Yourself, I will protect Your kingdom like the shore [that protects] the ocean. And I promise that otherwise I will not be a member of the community of heroes [in warfare]!1
1 Technical note: saḥ tvam.
1 Lakṣmaṇa had already stated in text 22 that He would send Daśaratha, Kaikeyī and Bharata to the forest for fourteen years. Under this circumstance, if Rāmacandra didn’t want to sit on the throne due to turmoil in the kingdom that could be caused by supporters of Kaikeyī and Bharata, Lakṣmaṇa was willing to take charge—because a kingdom needs a righteous king. And Lakṣmaṇa was absolutely confident that He would win in such a struggle.
GLOSS. Lakṣmaṇa points out that Rāma might be afraid that various turmoils might arise in the kingdom by taking charge of it while defying the king.