Canto 2 -
Ayodhyā-kāṇḍa
Chapter 40: Rāma Departs from Ayodhyā
Text 2.40.5
सृष्टस्त्वं वनवासाय स्वनुरक्तः सुहृज्जने।
रामे प्रमादं मा कार्षीः पुत्र भ्रातरि गच्छति॥
sṛṣṭas tvaṁ vana-vāsāya svanuraktaḥ suhṛj-jane
rāme pramādaṁ mā kārṣīḥ putra bhrātari gacchati
sṛṣṭaḥ = have been created by providence; tvam = You; vana-vāsāya = to reside in the forest; svanuraktaḥ = fully attached; suhṛt-jane = to Your well-wisher; rāme = Rāma; pramādam mā kārṣīḥ = don’t become inattentive; putra = My son; bhrātari = and brother; gacchati = when He goes with Sītā-devī to see flowering forest areas.
You have been created by providence to reside in the forest. My son, fully attached to Your well-wisher and brother Rāma, don’t become inattentive when He goes with Sītā-devī to see flowering forest areas.
Queen Sumitrā’s idea is that just as Queen Kausalyā gave birth to her son Rāma to protect the world, she gave birth to her son Lakṣmaṇa, who was very attached to His well-wisher Rāma, to reside in the forest, that is, to follow Rāma to the forest. Therefore, she didn’t want Lakṣmaṇa to become distracted by Rāma’s beauty and become inattentive to His own duty of protecting Rāma. She [certainly] didn’t want Lakṣmaṇa to stay back when Rāma went to the forest.