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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.48.23

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 48: Bharadvāja directs Rāma to Citrakūṭa. Rāma seeks seclusion beyond the Gaṅgā–Yamunā confluence, Bharadvāja recommends the food-rich mountain

In the sequence: Rāma explains that the site is too close to settlements: visitors will come to see him and Sītā → he asks for a more secluded place where they can live peacefully

2.48.23

ekānte paśya bhagavann āśramasthānam uttamam
ramate yatra vaidehī sukhārhā janakātmajā

“Look out, revered one, in a solitary place for an excellent site for a hermitage, where the Videhan princess, daughter of Janaka, who deserves comfort, may find delight.”

Words: ekānte — in a solitary place; paśya — look, seek out; bhagavann — O revered one; āśramasthānam — a site for a hermitage; uttamam — excellent, best; ramate — may delight, find pleasure; yatra — where; vaidehī — the Videhan (princess); sukhārhā — deserving comfort; janakātmajā — daughter of Janaka

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.