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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.52.23

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 52: Sumantra reports the farewells. Rāma asks Bharata to care for the family, Lakṣmaṇa condemns the banishment and Sītā stands silently in tears

In the sequence: Sumantra says Sītā spoke no word to him; she stood in tears, looking toward her husband and then the chariot.

2.52.23

jānakī tu mahārāja niḥśvasantī tapasvinī
bhūtopahatacitteva viṣṭhitā vṛṣmṛtā sthitā

But Jānakī, O great king, poor lady, sighing, stood transfixed, as though her mind were possessed by a spirit, dazed and forgetful of herself.

Words: jānakī — Jānakī (Sītā); tu — but; mahārāja — O great king; niḥśvasantī — sighing; tapasvinī — the poor lady, hapless one; bhūtopahatacitteva — as if her mind were seized by a spirit; viṣṭhitā — standing still, transfixed; vṛṣmṛtā — dazed, forgetful of herself (= vismṛtā); sthitā — stood, remained

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.