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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.46.51

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: Rāma explains why he must return: the empty chariot will convince Kaikeyī that the exile is real and protect Daśaratha from suspicion of evading his promise

2.46.51

nagarīṃ tvāṃ gataṃ dṛṣṭvā jananī me yavīyasī
kaikeyī pratyayaṃ gacched iti rāmo vanaṃ gataḥ

'Seeing you returned to the city, my younger mother Kaikeyī may gain assurance that "Rāma has truly gone to the forest."'

Words: nagarīṃ — to the city; tvāṃ — you; gataṃ — gone, returned; dṛṣṭvā — seeing; jananī me — my mother; yavīyasī — younger; kaikeyī — Kaikeyī; pratyayaṃ — confidence, assurance; gacched — may gain, reach; iti — (thinking) that; rāmo vanaṃ gataḥ — 'Rāma has gone to the forest'

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.