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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.40.20

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: the brāhmaṇas explain that they have brought their sacred fires and the white parasols earned through Vājapeya sacrifices, which they offer to hold over him for shade

2.40.20

vājapeyasamutthāni chatrāṇy etāni paśya naḥ
pṛṣṭhato 'nuprayātāni haṃsān iva jalātyaye

Look at these parasols of ours, gained from our Vājapeya sacrifices, following behind you like wild geese at the passing of the rains.

Words: vājapeyasamutthāni — arisen from the Vājapeya (sacrifice); chatrāṇy — parasols; etāni — these; paśya — look, see; naḥ — our; pṛṣṭhato — from behind; 'nuprayātāni — following after; haṃsān — geese, swans; iva — like, as; jalātyaye — at the end of the rains

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.