← 2.41.30 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 41: Rāma leaves the sleeping citizens · 2.41.32 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.41.31

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: the citizens wake, search for Rāma, follow the tracks briefly, and then lose them → unable to discover where he has gone, they return to Ayodhyā.

2.41.31

tato mārgānusāreṇa gatvā kiṃ cit kṣaṇaṃ punaḥ
mārganāśād viṣādena mahatā samabhiplutaḥ

Then, following the track for a little while, again, when the trail was lost, they were overwhelmed by great despair.

Words: tato — then; mārgānusāreṇa — by following the track; gatvā — having gone; kiṃ cit — for a little; kṣaṇaṃ — a moment; punaḥ — again; mārganāśād — from the loss of the track; viṣādena — by despair, dejection; mahatā — great; samabhiplutaḥ — overwhelmed, flooded

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.