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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.106.21

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

2.106.21

vāruṇīmadagandhāś ca mālyagandhaś ca mūrchitaḥ
dhūpitāgarugandhaś ca na pravāti samantataḥ

The heady scents of wine, the pervading fragrance of garlands, and the smoky perfume of burning aloe-wood no longer waft on every side.

Words: vāruṇīmadagandhāś ca — and the intoxicating scents of wine; mālyagandhaś ca — and the fragrance of garlands; mūrchitaḥ — grown strong, pervading; dhūpitāgarugandhaś ca — and the scent of fumigated aloe-wood; na pravāti — does not waft; samantataḥ — on every side

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.