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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.46.32

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

2.46.32

sarāmam api tāvan me rathaṃ dṛṣṭvā tadā janaḥ
vinā rāmaṃ rathaṃ dṛṣṭvā vidīryetāpi sā purī

'The people grieved even at seeing my chariot with Rāma in it as it left; how much more, seeing the chariot without Rāma, would that city burst asunder!'

Words: sarāmam api — even with Rāma in it; tāvan — so much, then; me — my; rathaṃ — chariot; dṛṣṭvā — having seen; tadā — then; janaḥ — the people; vinā rāmaṃ — without Rāma; rathaṃ — the chariot; dṛṣṭvā — seeing; vidīryetāpi — would burst apart even; sā purī — that city

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.