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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.41.3

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: At the Tamasā, Rāma marks their first night away and thinks of the grieving city

2.41.3

paśya śūnyāny araṇyāni rudantīva samantataḥ
yathānilayam āyadbhir nilīnāni mṛgadvijaiḥ

See the empty forests that seem to weep on every side, now settled into stillness as their beasts and birds withdraw each to its own lair.

Words: paśya — see; śūnyāny — empty; araṇyāni — forests; rudantīva — as if weeping; samantataḥ — on every side; yathānilayam — each to its own lair; āyadbhir — by (creatures) returning; nilīnāni — settled, hidden away; mṛgadvijaiḥ — by beasts and birds

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.