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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.17.18

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 17: Kausalyā learns of Rāma’s exile. Rāma tells Kausalyā that Bharata will inherit and he must leave, she collapses and laments their separation

In the sequence: she faints; Rāma raises and comforts her

2.17.18

upāvṛtyotthitāṃ dīnāṃ vaḍavām iva vāhitām
pāṃśuguṇṭhitasarvāgnīṃ vimamarśa ca pāṇinā

Turning to her as she rose, wretched, like an overworked mare, her whole body covered with dust, he stroked her with his hand.

Words: upāvṛtyotthitāṃ — turning to (her) risen; dīnāṃ — wretched; vaḍavām — a mare; iva — like; vāhitām — driven, overworked; pāṃśuguṇṭhitasarvāgnīṃ — her whole body covered with dust; vimamarśa — stroked; ca — and; pāṇinā — with (his) hand

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.