← 2.46.35 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 46: Rāma crosses the Gaṅgā · 2.46.37 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.46.36

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

2.46.36

ahaṃ kiṃ cāpi vakṣyāmi devīṃ tava suto mayā
nīto 'sau mātulakulaṃ saṃtāpaṃ mā kṛthā iti

'And what shall I say to the queen, your mother? "Your son was taken by me to his maternal uncle's house; do not grieve"?'

Words: ahaṃ — I; kiṃ — what; cāpi — and even; vakṣyāmi — shall I say; devīṃ — to the queen; tava suto — your son; mayā — by me; nīto — was taken; 'sau — that one; mātulakulaṃ — to the maternal uncle's house; saṃtāpaṃ — grief; mā kṛthā — do not feel/make; iti — thus

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.