← 2.108.25 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 108: The ṛṣis leave Citrakūṭa

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.108.26

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 108: The ṛṣis leave Citrakūṭa. Rākṣasas assault the tapasvins and disrupt their rites, the community departs for another hermitage despite Rāma’s appeal to remain

In the sequence: Rāma cannot persuade the departing group to stay → he escorts them part of the way, pays his respects, and returns to his dwelling → although that community has gone, the account says other tapasvins continue to accompany him.

2.108.26

āśramaṃ tv ṛṣivirahitaṃ prabhuḥ kṣaṇam api na jahau sa rāghavaḥ
rāghavaṃ hi satatam anugatās tāpasāś carṣicaritadhṛtaguṇāḥ

But the lord Rāghava did not forsake even for a moment the hermitage now bereft of its sages; for ascetics who held fast to the virtues drawn from the seers' way of life followed Rāghava constantly.

Words: āśramaṃ — the hermitage; tv — but; ṛṣivirahitaṃ — bereft of its sages; prabhuḥ — the lord; kṣaṇam api — even for a moment; na jahau — did not forsake; sa rāghavaḥ — he, Rāghava; rāghavaṃ — Rāghava; hi — for; satatam — constantly; anugatās — followed, attended; tāpasāś — the ascetics; carṣicaritadhṛtaguṇāḥ — and holding the virtues of the seers' conduct

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.