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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.52.7

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: After reviving, Daśaratha asks Sumantra how the travelers will eat, sleep, and survive in the forest

2.52.7

sukumāryā tapasvinyā sumantra saha sītayā
rājaputrau kathaṃ pādair avaruhya rathād gatau

'How, Sumantra, did the two princes, together with tender, hapless Sītā, descend from the chariot and go on foot?'

Words: sukumāryā — with the delicate one; tapasvinyā — with the hapless one, poor lady; sumantra — O Sumantra; saha sītayā — together with Sītā; rājaputrau — the two princes; kathaṃ — how; pādair — on foot, by their feet; avaruhya — having descended; rathād — from the chariot; gatau — went, gone

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.