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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.53.9

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 53: Story of Viśvāmitra: Śabalā resists seizure. The King seizes Śabalā, she returns to Vasiṣṭha and, with his permission, produces armies to resist the royal forces

In the sequence: Vasiṣṭha assures her that she is innocent and that he has not given her up, but points to the King's overwhelming military force

1.53.9

evam uktas tu brahmarṣir idaṃ vacanam abravīt
śokasaṃtaptahṛdayāṃ svasāram iva duḥkhitām

Thus addressed, the brahmin-seer spoke these words to her, whose heart was scorched with grief and who was distressed like his own sister:

Words: evam uktas — thus addressed; tu — and; brahmarṣir — the brahmin-seer; idaṃ vacanam — these words; abravīt — spoke; śokasaṃtaptahṛdayāṃ — (to her) whose heart was scorched with grief; svasāram — sister; iva — like; duḥkhitām — distressed

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.