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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.8.19

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 8: Daśaratha seeks sons: Sumantra’s prophecy. Daśaratha proposes a sacrifice for sons, Sumantra recalls Sanatkumāra’s prophecy and the story of Ṛṣyaśṛṅga’s arrival in drought-stricken Aṅga

In the sequence: the King and ministers consider how to fetch him, but the proposed envoys fear Ṛṣyaśṛṅga and initially refuse

1.8.19

te tu rājño vacaḥ śrutvā vyathitā vanatānanāḥ
na gacchema ṛṣer bhītā anuneṣyanti taṃ nṛpam

But they, hearing the king's words, distressed and with faces cast down, afraid of the seer, saying “We cannot go,” will seek to win over that king.

Words: te — they; tu — but; rājño — of the king; vacaḥ — words; śrutvā — having heard; vyathitā — distressed, agitated; vanatānanāḥ — with faces cast down; na — not; gacchema — we could go, would go; ṛṣer — of the seer; bhītā — afraid; anuneṣyanti — will conciliate, seek to win over; taṃ — that; nṛpam — king

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.