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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.46.16

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: Rāma asks him to support the aging, distressed Daśaratha and carry the assurance that all three will return after fourteen years

2.46.16

śokopahata cetāś ca vṛddhaś ca jagatīpatiḥ
kāma bhārāvasannaś ca tasmād etad bravīmi te

'The lord of the earth is old, his mind stricken by grief, and sinking beneath the burden of desire; that is why I say this to you.'

Words: śokopahata cetāś — with mind stricken by grief; ca — and; vṛddhaś ca — and old; jagatīpatiḥ — the lord of the earth; kāma bhārāvasannaś — sunk beneath the burden of desire; ca — and; tasmād — therefore; etad — this; bravīmi — I say; te — to you

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.