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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.51.5

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 51: Sumantra returns to Ayodhyā. Citizens surround the empty chariot, news of Rāma’s crossing renews their grief and Daśaratha collapses on receiving his message

In the sequence: crowds surround him and ask where Rāma is

2.51.5

sa śūnyām iva niḥśabdāṃ dṛṣṭvā paramadurmanāḥ
sumantraś cintayām āsa śokavegasamāhataḥ

Seeing it silent, as though empty, Sumantra, deeply dejected and struck by a surge of grief, fell to brooding:

Words: sa — he; śūnyām — empty; iva — as though; niḥśabdāṃ — silent, soundless; dṛṣṭvā — having seen; paramadurmanāḥ — deeply dejected; sumantraś — Sumantra; cintayām āsa — fell to thinking, brooded; śokavegasamāhataḥ — struck by a surge of grief

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.