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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.25.4

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: he describes the frightening sounds of lions and mountain streams

2.25.4

sīte vimucyatām eṣā vanavāsakṛtā matiḥ
bahudoṣaṃ hi kāntāraṃ vanam ity abhidhīyate

Sītā, let this resolve to dwell in the forest be given up; for the forest is spoken of as a wilderness full of dangers.

Words: sīte — O Sītā; vimucyatām — let it be given up; eṣā — this; vanavāsakṛtā — made for forest-dwelling; matiḥ — resolve, intention; bahudoṣaṃ hi — for full of dangers; kāntāraṃ — wilderness; vanam — the forest; ity abhidhīyate — is so called

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.