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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.11.9

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 11: Daśaratha’s pleas fail to move Kaikeyī. Kaikeyī insists that Daśaratha honour his promise, his night-long appeals fail to change her demands

In the sequence: night falls while he is still lamenting

2.11.9

tathaivoṣṇaṃ viniḥśvasya vṛddho daśaratho nṛpaḥ
vilalāpārtavad duḥkhaṃ gaganāsaktalocanaḥ

Sighing hot breaths likewise, the aged King Daśaratha, his eyes fixed on the sky, lamented his sorrow like one in anguish.

Words: tathaivoṣṇaṃ — likewise hot (breath); viniḥśvasya — having sighed; vṛddho — aged; daśaratho — Daśaratha; nṛpaḥ — the king; vilalāpārtavad — lamented like one afflicted; duḥkhaṃ — (his) sorrow; gaganāsaktalocanaḥ — his eyes fixed on the sky

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.