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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.43.5

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 43: Rāma crosses Kosala’s rivers. He crosses the Vedaśruti, Gomatī & Syandikā, shows Sītā the ancestral lands and longs to see his parents again

In the sequence: along the way he hears villagers condemn Daśaratha's decision and Kaikeyī's demands

2.43.5

hā nṛśaṃsādya kaikeyī pāpā pāpānubandhinī
tīkṣṇā saṃbhinnamaryādā tīkṣṇe karmaṇi vartate

Alas, cruel this day is Kaikeyī, wicked and pursuing wickedness, harsh, having shattered all bounds of propriety, she engages in a harsh deed —

Words: hā — alas; nṛśaṃsādya — cruel this day; kaikeyī — Kaikeyī; pāpā — wicked, sinful; pāpānubandhinī — pursuing sin, bent on wickedness; tīkṣṇā — harsh, fierce; saṃbhinnamaryādā — having broken the bounds of propriety; tīkṣṇe — in a harsh; karmaṇi — deed; vartate — engages, acts

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.