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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.106.19

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 106: Bharata returns without Rāma. Ayodhyā resembles an extinguished fire and deserted altar, he laments its emptiness and reaches Daśaratha’s residence

In the sequence: Bharata asks why the music, pleasant scents, traffic, horses, elephants, and well-dressed crowds of former days are gone

2.106.19

bharatas tu rathasthaḥ sañ śrīmān daśarathātmajaḥ
vāhayantaṃ rathaśreṣṭhaṃ sārathiṃ vākyam abravīt

But the illustrious Bharata, Daśaratha's son, seated in his chariot, spoke these words to the charioteer who was driving that finest of cars:

Words: bharatas tu — but Bharata; rathasthaḥ — seated in the chariot; sañ — being; śrīmān — illustrious; daśarathātmajaḥ — son of Daśaratha; vāhayantaṃ — driving; rathaśreṣṭhaṃ — the best of chariots; sārathiṃ — to the charioteer; vākyam — words; abravīt — spoke

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.