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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.42.5
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: women reproach the men for coming back without Rāma and praise Lakṣmaṇa for staying with him
2.42.5
gṛhe gṛhe rudantyaś ca bhartāraṃ gṛham āgatam
vyagarhayanto duḥkhārtā vāgbhis totrair iva dvipān
In house after house the women wept and, stricken with grief, reproached their husbands returned home with words, as men goad elephants with prods.
Words: gṛhe — in house; gṛhe — after house; rudantyaś — weeping (women); ca — and; bhartāraṃ — husband; gṛham — home; āgatam — come; vyagarhayanto — reproaching; duḥkhārtā — grief-stricken; vāgbhis — with words; totrair — with goads; iva — as, like; dvipān — elephants
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.