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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.106.5
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: the narrative pauses over its emptiness through a series of comparisons: an extinguished fire, a defeated army, an abandoned altar, a damaged watering place, and a sky without its familiar lights
2.106.5
vidhūmām iva hemābhām adhvarāgnisamutthitām
havirabhyukṣitāṃ paścāc chikhāṃ vipralayaṃ gatām
like a smokeless, gold-hued flame risen from the sacrificial fire, then, sprinkled over with oblation, sunk to extinction;
Words: vidhūmām iva — like a smokeless one; hemābhām — gold-hued; adhvarāgnisamutthitām — risen from the sacrificial fire; havirabhyukṣitāṃ — sprinkled with oblation; paścāc — afterwards; chikhāṃ — the flame; vipralayaṃ gatām — gone to extinction
Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki. 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.