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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.53.20

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 53: Daśaratha’s remorse. Sumantra describes the horses’ reluctance and the country’s grief, Daśaratha regrets his uncounselled decision and begs to see Rāma

In the sequence: he begs Sumantra either to bring Rāma back or take him to his son

2.53.20

atha vāpi mahābāhur gato dūraṃ bhaviṣyati
mām eva ratham āropya śīghraṃ rāmāya darśaya

'Or else, if the mighty-armed one shall have gone far away, set me upon the chariot and show me swiftly to Rāma.'

Words: atha vāpi — or else, or if; mahābāhur — the mighty-armed; gato — gone; dūraṃ — far; bhaviṣyati — will have (gone), will be; mām — me; eva — indeed; ratham — on the chariot; āropya — having set up, placed; śīghraṃ — swiftly; rāmāya — to Rāma; darśaya — show, bring into sight

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.