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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.57.18

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 57: Daśaratha’s arrow aimed at a sound. He recalls mistaking a filling pot for an elephant and shooting a youth who directs him to his blind parents

In the sequence: a young forest tapasvin cried out, asking why someone had attacked a harmless person fetching water

2.57.18

tatra vāg uṣasi vyaktā prādurāsīd vanaukasaḥ
hā heti patatas toye vāg abhūt tatra mānuṣī
katham asmadvidhe śastraṃ nipatet tu tapasvini

Thereupon a clear voice of a forest-dweller broke forth; as he fell into the water crying 'Alas, alas!', a human voice arose there: 'How could a weapon strike an ascetic such as I?'

Words: tatra — there, thereupon; vāg — a voice; uṣasi — at dawn; vyaktā — clear, distinct; prādurāsīd — broke forth, became manifest; vanaukasaḥ — of a forest-dweller; hā — alas; heti — 'alas'—thus; patatas — as he fell; toye — into the water; vāg — a voice; abhūt — arose, was; tatra — there; mānuṣī — human; katham — how; asmadvidhe — upon one like me; śastraṃ — a weapon; nipatet — should fall, strike; tu — indeed; tapasvini — on an ascetic

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.