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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.32.18

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 32: Kaikeyī opposes Rāma’s escort. Daśaratha offers troops and supplies, Kaikeyī cites Asamañja’s exile, Siddhārtha distinguishes Rāma’s innocence

In the sequence: the minister Siddhārtha explains that Asamañja used to throw children into the Sarayū and was expelled after their parents protested → he asks what comparable offense Rāma has committed

2.32.18

krīḍitas tv eṣa naḥ putrān bālān udbhrāntacetanaḥ
sarayvāṃ prakṣipan maurkhyād atulāṃ prītim aśnute

“This man, his mind deranged, in wanton sport flings our young sons into the Sarayū, and out of sheer folly derives from it a matchless delight.”

Words: krīḍitas — in wanton sport, at play; tv — indeed; eṣa — this one; naḥ — our; putrān — sons; bālān — young, children; udbhrāntacetanaḥ — of frenzied, deranged mind; sarayvāṃ — into the Sarayū; prakṣipan — throwing, casting; maurkhyād — out of folly; atulāṃ — incomparable, matchless; prītim — pleasure, delight; aśnute — obtains, enjoys

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.