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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.54.11

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 54: Sumantra comforts Kausalyā. He describes Lakṣmaṇa’s service and Sītā’s curiosity about the forest, but Kausalyā’s grief persists

In the sequence: he describes Sītā as at ease beside Rāma, enjoying the woods as she once enjoyed the city gardens

2.54.11

tadgataṃ hṛdayaṃ hy asyās tad adhīnaṃ ca jīvitam
ayodhyāpi bhavet tasyā rāma hīnā tathā vanam

“For her heart is fixed on him, and her very life depends on him; without Rāma even Ayodhyā would be to her but a forest.”

Words: tadgataṃ — gone to him, fixed on him; hṛdayaṃ — heart; hy — for, indeed; asyās — her, of her; tad — on him; adhīnaṃ — dependent, subject; ca — and; jīvitam — life; ayodhyāpi — even Ayodhyā; bhavet — would be; tasyā — for her; rāma — Rāma; hīnā — bereft of, without; tathā — likewise, so (would be); vanam — a forest

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.