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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.38.12

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 38: Kausalyā imagines Rāma’s return. Fearing Kaikeyī and the hardships facing Rāma, Sītā & Lakṣmaṇa, she longs for her son’s homecoming and embrace

In the sequence: her thoughts turn to a hoped-for homecoming: the city decorated again, the brothers returning with Sītā, and the people showering them with offerings

2.38.12

kadāyodhyāṃ mahābāhuḥ purīṃ vīraḥ pravekṣyati
puraskṛtya rathe sītāṃ vṛṣabho govadhūm iva

When shall the mighty-armed hero enter the city of Ayodhyā, having set Sītā before him on the chariot, like a bull with his cow?

Words: kadāyodhyāṃ — when the city of Ayodhyā; mahābāhuḥ — the mighty-armed; purīṃ — city; vīraḥ — the hero; pravekṣyati — will enter; puraskṛtya — having placed in front; rathe — on the chariot; sītāṃ — Sītā; vṛṣabho — the bull; govadhūm — the cow; iva — like, as

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.