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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.27.22

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 27: Rāma agrees that Sītā will accompany him. Sītā rejects separation despite every hardship, Rāma agrees to take her and asks her to distribute their possessions

In the sequence: unable to imagine enduring fourteen years apart, she again threatens death, embraces him, and breaks down

2.27.22

sā viddhā bahubhir vākyair digdhair iva gajāṅganā
cira saṃniyataṃ bāṣpaṃ mumocāgnim ivāraṇiḥ

Pierced by his many words as by poisoned shafts, that lady, like a cow-elephant, let flow the tears she had long held back, as the fire-drill lets forth fire.

Words: sā — she; viddhā — pierced; bahubhir — by many; vākyair — words; digdhair — poisoned, smeared (darts); iva — as if; gajāṅganā — a she-elephant; cira — long; saṃniyataṃ — held back, restrained; bāṣpaṃ — tears; mumocāgnim — released ... fire; ivāraṇiḥ — as the fire-drill (does)

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.