← 2.42.1 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 42: The citizens return to Ayodhyā without Rāma · 2.42.3 →
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.42.2
Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 42: The citizens return to Ayodhyā without Rāma. Families reproach the men for returning without Rāma and imagine abandoning Kaikeyī’s Kingdom to join him
In the sequence: The returning citizens reach their families in despair; shops and household cooking remain neglected
2.42.2
svaṃ svaṃ nilayam āgamya putradāraiḥ samāvṛtāḥ
aśrūṇi mumucuḥ sarve bāṣpeṇa pihitānanāḥ
Coming each to his own home, surrounded by children and wives, they all shed tears, their faces veiled with weeping.
Words: svaṃ — own; svaṃ — each his; nilayam — dwelling; āgamya — having come to; putradāraiḥ — with children and wives; samāvṛtāḥ — surrounded; aśrūṇi — tears; mumucuḥ — shed; sarve — all; bāṣpeṇa — with tears, weeping; pihitānanāḥ — their faces covered
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.