← 2.46.28 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 46: Rāma crosses the Gaṅgā · 2.46.30 →
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.46.29
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: Sumantra pleads to stay: he cannot face returning with the empty chariot or telling Kausalyā where her son has gone
2.46.29
nivartyamāno rāmeṇa sumantraḥ śokakarśitaḥ
tat sarvaṃ vacanaṃ śrutvā snehāt kākutstham abravīt
Sumantra, being sent back by Rāma, worn thin with grief, having heard all that speech, said to Kākutstha out of affection:
Words: nivartyamāno — being sent back; rāmeṇa — by Rāma; sumantraḥ — Sumantra; śokakarśitaḥ — worn thin by grief; tat sarvaṃ — all that; vacanaṃ — speech; śrutvā — having heard; snehāt — out of affection; kākutstham — to Kākutstha (Rāma); abravīt — said
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.