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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.53.6

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 describes the country as grieving with its people: trees wilted, creatures quiet, ponds clouded, and flowers without their former freshness

2.53.6

līnapuṣkarapatrāś ca narendra kaluṣodakāḥ
saṃtaptapadmāḥ padminyo līnamīnavihaṃgamāḥ

'And the lotus-ponds, O king, have their lotus-leaves shrunk and their water turbid, their lotuses scorched, their fish and birds gone into hiding.'

Words: līnapuṣkarapatrāś — with lotus-leaves shrunk; ca — and; narendra — O king (lord of men); kaluṣodakāḥ — with turbid water; saṃtaptapadmāḥ — with scorched lotuses; padminyo — the lotus-ponds; līnamīnavihaṃgamāḥ — with fish and birds gone into hiding

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.