← 2.41.16 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 41: Rāma leaves the sleeping citizens · 2.41.18 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.41.17

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 41: Rāma leaves the sleeping citizens. Sumantra lays misleading tracks, Rāma crosses the Tamasā with Sītā & Lakṣmaṇa before the followers wake

In the sequence: seeing the exhausted citizens asleep under trees, Rāma decides they should leave before the followers wake: affection for him should not force them into further hardship

2.41.17

asmadvyapekṣān saumitre nirapekṣān gṛheṣv api
vṛkṣamūleṣu saṃsuptān paśya lakṣmaṇa sāmpratam

Behold now, Lakṣmaṇa Saumitri, these people intent upon us, heedless even of their own homes, sleeping at the feet of trees.

Words: asmadvyapekṣān — intent upon us; saumitre — O Saumitri; nirapekṣān — heedless, indifferent; gṛheṣv — of their homes; api — even; vṛkṣamūleṣu — at the roots of trees; saṃsuptān — fast asleep; paśya — see; lakṣmaṇa — O Lakṣmaṇa; sāmpratam — now

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.