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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.37.21
Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 37: Daśaratha loses sight of Rāma and rejects Kaikeyī. The chariot’s dust disappears, Daśaratha falls, rejects Kaikeyī’s touch and returns to Kausalyā as his sight fails
In the sequence: he returns through the city's deserted streets, saying he cannot live without him
2.37.21
tām avekṣya purīṃ sarvāṃ rāmam evānucintayan
vilapan prāviśad rājā gṛhaṃ sūrya ivāmbudam
Gazing on that whole city, brooding on Rāma alone, lamenting, the king entered his palace as the sun enters a raincloud.
Words: tām — that; avekṣya — having gazed upon; purīṃ — city; sarvāṃ — all, whole; rāmam — Rāma; evānucintayan — thinking only of; vilapan — lamenting; prāviśad — entered; rājā — the king; gṛhaṃ — the house, palace; sūrya — the sun; ivāmbudam — as into a raincloud
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.