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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.23.12

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 23: Story of Tāṭakā’s forest: Indra’s cleansing and the ruined country. The Sarayū’s origin and confluence are explained, Indra’s cleansing gives Malada & Karūṣa their names and Tāṭakā’s devastation makes the region impassable

In the sequence: Viśvāmitra explains that Brahmā created Lake Mānasa on Kailāsa through his mind, and that the Sarayū flows from it past Ayodhyā → the roar arises from the churning and agitation of the waters as the Sarayū meets the Gaṅgā → the brothers salute both rivers, land on the southern bank, and continue. Entering a dense, frightening forest full of predators and harsh animal cries, Rāma asks about it

1.23.12

aho vanam idaṃ durgaṃ jhillikāgaṇanāditam
bhairavaiḥ śvāpadaiḥ kīrṇaṃ śakuntair dāruṇāravaiḥ

“Ah, this forest is impassable, resounding with swarms of crickets, strewn with fearsome beasts of prey and with birds of dreadful cries;

Words: aho — ah!; vanam — the forest; idaṃ — this; durgaṃ — impassable, hard to cross; jhillikāgaṇanāditam — resounding with swarms of crickets; bhairavaiḥ — fearsome; śvāpadaiḥ — with beasts of prey; kīrṇaṃ — strewn, filled; śakuntair — with birds; dāruṇāravaiḥ — of dreadful cries

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.