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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.12.19

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 12: Daśaratha summons Rāma. Kaikeyī insists on the promise, Daśaratha repudiates her & Bharata, Sumantra leaves unaware of the exile

In the sequence: Kaikeyī directs Sumantra to fetch Rāma → Sumantra sees the King's distress but does not understand its cause; he leaves believing the summons concerns the abhiṣeka.

2.12.19

sumantraḥ karuṇaṃ śrutvā dṛṣṭvā dīnaṃ ca pārthivam
pragṛhītāñjaliḥ kiṃ cit tasmād deśād apākraman

Sumantra, hearing the piteous words and seeing the king dejected, with joined palms drew back a little from that place.

Words: sumantraḥ — Sumantra; karuṇaṃ — the piteous (speech); śrutvā — having heard; dṛṣṭvā — having seen; dīnaṃ — wretched, dejected; ca — and; pārthivam — the king; pragṛhītāñjaliḥ — with joined palms held forth; kiṃ cit — a little; tasmād — from that; deśād — place; apākraman — drew back, withdrew

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.