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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.51.7

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

2.51.7

sumantram abhiyāntaṃ taṃ śataśo 'tha sahasraśaḥ
kva rāma iti pṛcchantaḥ sūtam abhyadravan narāḥ

As Sumantra drove up, men by the hundreds and thousands ran to the charioteer, asking, 'Where is Rāma?'

Words: sumantram — Sumantra; abhiyāntaṃ — approaching, driving up; taṃ — him; śataśo — by hundreds; 'tha — then; sahasraśaḥ — by thousands; kva — where; rāma — Rāma; iti — thus (saying); pṛcchantaḥ — asking; sūtam — the charioteer; abhyadravan — ran up to; narāḥ — men

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.