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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.46.38

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: he offers to serve them in the forest and bring them home when the exile ends

2.46.38

mama tāvan niyogasthās tvadbandhujanavāhinaḥ
kathaṃ rathaṃ tvayā hīnaṃ pravakṣyanti hayottamāḥ

'How shall these excellent horses of mine, obedient to command and used to bearing your kinsmen, draw the chariot bereft of you?'

Words: mama — my; tāvan — indeed; niyogasthās — obedient to command; tvadbandhujanavāhinaḥ — that carry your kinsfolk; kathaṃ — how; rathaṃ — the chariot; tvayā hīnaṃ — bereft of you; pravakṣyanti — will draw, carry forth; hayottamāḥ — the excellent horses

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.