← 2.46.77 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 46: Rāma crosses the Gaṅgā · 2.46.79 →
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.46.78
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 watches them with tears flowing
2.46.78
gataṃ tu gaṅgāparapāram āśu rāmaṃ sumantraḥ pratataṃ nirīkṣya
adhvaprakarṣād vinivṛttadṛṣṭir mumoca bāṣpaṃ vyathitas tapasvī
Gazing long after Rāma, who had swiftly gone to the far shore of the Gaṅgā, until his sight was cut off by the great length of the road, the wretched Sumantra, sore troubled, shed tears.
Words: gataṃ — gone; tu — but; gaṅgāparapāram — to the far shore of the Gaṅgā; āśu — swiftly; rāmaṃ — Rāma; sumantraḥ — Sumantra; pratataṃ — continuously, long; nirīkṣya — having gazed at; adhvaprakarṣād — because of the great length of the road; vinivṛttadṛṣṭir — his gaze cut off, turned back; mumoca — shed, let fall; bāṣpaṃ — tears; vyathitas — troubled, distressed; tapasvī — the wretched, poor one
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.