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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.57.9

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 57: Story of Viśvāmitra: Triśaṅku’s curse and appeal for refuge. Vasiṣṭha’s sons reject and curse Triśaṅku, his followers abandon him and he asks Viśvāmitra to overcome his fate

In the sequence: by morning his appearance has changed: dark clothing, rough skin, disordered hair, funeral garlands, and iron ornaments → his ministers and followers abandon him

1.57.9

atha rātryāṃ vyatītāyāṃ rājā caṇḍālatāṃ gataḥ
nīlavastradharo nīlaḥ paruṣo dhvastamūrdhajaḥ
cityamālyānulepaś ca āyasābharaṇo 'bhavat

Then, when the night had passed, the king became a caṇḍāla: dark of hue, wearing dark garments, rough-skinned, his hair dishevelled, decked with pyre-garlands and unguents, and adorned with iron ornaments.

Words: atha — then; rātryāṃ vyatītāyāṃ — when the night had passed (loc. abs.); rājā — the king; caṇḍālatāṃ — the state of a caṇḍāla; gataḥ — gone to, become; nīlavastradharo — wearing dark garments; nīlaḥ — dark, black (of hue); paruṣo — rough, harsh (of skin); dhvastamūrdhajaḥ — his hair dishevelled; cityamālyānulepaś ca — and decked with pyre-garlands and unguents; āyasābharaṇo — adorned with iron ornaments; 'bhavat — became

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.