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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.46.31

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

2.46.31

kathaṃ hi tvadvihīno 'haṃ pratiyāsyāmi tāṃ purīm
tava tāta viyogena putraśokākulām iva

'For how shall I, bereft of you, return to that city, which through separation from you, dear one, is as though distraught with grief for a son?'

Words: kathaṃ — how; hi — for; tvadvihīno 'haṃ — I, bereft of you; pratiyāsyāmi — shall return, go back; tāṃ purīm — to that city; tava — of you; tāta — dear one; viyogena — through separation; putraśokākulām — distraught with grief for a son; iva — as if

Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki. 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.