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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.40.15

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 40: The citizens follow to the Tamasā. Rāma asks them to support Bharata, then leaves his chariot to walk beside the elderly brāhmaṇas

In the sequence: elderly brāhmaṇas call to the horses to turn around → unwilling to ride ahead while these old men struggle on foot, Rāma gets down, and Sītā and Lakṣmaṇa walk with him

2.40.15

evam ārtapralāpāṃs tān vṛddhān pralapato dvijān
avekṣya sahasā rāmo rathād avatatāra ha

Seeing those aged brahmins uttering such piteous cries, Rāma suddenly stepped down from the chariot.

Words: evam — thus; ārtapralāpāṃs — uttering cries of distress; tān — those; vṛddhān — aged (ones); pralapato — lamenting; dvijān — brahmins; avekṣya — having looked at, seen; sahasā — suddenly, at once; rāmo — Rāma; rathād — from the chariot; avatatāra — descended, stepped down; ha — indeed

Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki. 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.