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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.42.4

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

2.42.4

naṣṭaṃ dṛṣṭvā nābhyanandan vipulaṃ vā dhanāgamam
putraṃ prathamajaṃ labdhvā jananī nābhyanandata

Seeing wealth lost they did not grieve, nor did they rejoice at an abundant gain of wealth; a mother who had borne her firstborn son did not rejoice.

Words: naṣṭaṃ — what was lost; dṛṣṭvā — having seen; nābhyanandan — did not rejoice, welcome; vipulaṃ — abundant; vā — or; dhanāgamam — gain of wealth; putraṃ — son; prathamajaṃ — firstborn; labdhvā — having obtained; jananī — the mother; nābhyanandata — did not rejoice

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.