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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.46.7

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 tells Sumantra that they will now continue on foot and that he must return with the chariot → the driver protests at the injustice of Rāma's hardship

2.46.7

nivartasvety uvācainam etāvad dhi kṛtaṃ mama
yānaṃ vihāya padbhyāṃ tu gamiṣyāmo mahāvanam

'Turn back,' he said to him; 'this much has been done for me. Leaving the chariot, we shall go on foot into the great forest.'

Words: nivartasvety — 'turn back', thus; uvācainam — said to him; etāvad dhi — for this much; kṛtaṃ — (has been) done; mama — for me; yānaṃ — the vehicle, chariot; vihāya — having left, abandoned; padbhyāṃ — on foot, with the two feet; tu — but; gamiṣyāmo — we shall go; mahāvanam — the great 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.