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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.25.10

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 25: Rāma describes the hardships of forest life. Rāma describes the forest’s hunger, exposure, dangerous animals and tapasvin hardships, Sītā remains determined to accompany him

In the sequence: snakes may block the paths and waterways

2.25.10

sarīsṛpāś ca bahavo bahurūpāś ca bhāmini
caranti pṛthivīṃ darpād ato dukhataraṃ vanam

And many serpents of many shapes, O lovely one, roam the earth in their insolence; hence the forest is more painful still.

Words: sarīsṛpāś ca bahavo — and many creeping things; bahurūpāś ca — and of many shapes; bhāmini — O radiant one; caranti — they roam; pṛthivīṃ — the earth; darpād — out of insolence; ato dukhataraṃ vanam — hence the forest is more painful

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.