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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.51.6

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

2.51.6

kaccin na sagajā sāśvā sajanā sajanādhipā
rāma saṃtāpaduḥkhena dagdhā śokāgninā purī
iti cintāparaḥ sūtas tvaritaḥ praviveśa ha

'Surely the city, with its elephants and horses, its people and their lord, has not been burnt down by the fire of grief, by the anguish of sorrow for Rāma?' Thus absorbed in thought, the charioteer entered in haste.

Words: kaccin — surely...? (I hope not); na — not; sagajā — with its elephants; sāśvā — with its horses; sajanā — with its people; sajanādhipā — with the lord of its people; rāma saṃtāpaduḥkhena — by the anguish of grief for Rāma; dagdhā — burnt down; śokāgninā — by the fire of grief; purī — the city; iti — thus; cintāparaḥ — absorbed in thought; sūtas — the charioteer; tvaritaḥ — in haste, hurriedly; praviveśa — entered; ha — indeed

Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki. 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.