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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.45.7
Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 45: Lakṣmaṇa keeps watch beside the Gaṅgā. Guha offers to guard the camp, Lakṣmaṇa refuses a bed and stays awake fearing the deaths of their grieving parents
In the sequence: he assures him of his love for Rāma, knowledge of the terrain, and ability to defend them
2.45.7
na hi me 'viditaṃ kiṃ cid vane 'smiṃś carataḥ sadā
caturaṅgaṃ hy api balaṃ sumahat prasahemahi
'For nothing in this forest is unknown to me, ranging it as I always do; indeed we could withstand even a very great four-fold army.'
Words: na hi — for not; me — to me; 'viditaṃ — unknown; kiṃ cid — anything; vane 'smiṃś — in this forest; carataḥ — of (me) ranging; sadā — always; caturaṅgaṃ — four-membered (army); hy api — indeed even; balaṃ — army, force; sumahat — very great; prasahemahi — we could withstand, overpower
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.