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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.46.10

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 46: Rāma crosses the Gaṅgā. He sends Sumantra back as proof of departure, forms matted locks with banyan sap and crosses while Sītā prays

In the sequence: he tells Sumantra that they will now continue on foot and that he must return with the chariot → the driver protests at the injustice of Rāma's hardship

2.46.10

na manye brahmacarye 'sti svadhīte vā phalodayaḥ
mārdavārjavayor vāpi tvāṃ ced vyasanam āgatam

'I do not think there is any fruit in chastity, or in good study, or even in gentleness and uprightness, if calamity has come upon you.'

Words: na manye — I do not think; brahmacarye — in chastity, religious study; 'sti — there is; svadhīte — in good learning; vā — or; phalodayaḥ — the arising of fruit; mārdavārjavayor — in gentleness and uprightness; vāpi — or even; tvāṃ — you; ced — if; vyasanam — calamity, misfortune; āgatam — has come

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.