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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.57.19

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

2.57.19

praviviktāṃ nadīṃ rātrāv udāhāro 'ham āgataḥ
iṣuṇābhihataḥ kena kasya vā kiṃ kṛtaṃ mayā

'I came to this lonely river by night to fetch water; by whom have I been struck with an arrow, and to whom have I done any wrong?'

Words: praviviktāṃ — lonely, secluded; nadīṃ — to the river; rātrāv — at night; udāhāro — to fetch water; 'ham — I; āgataḥ — have come; iṣuṇābhihataḥ — struck by an arrow; kena — by whom; kasya — to whom; vā — or; kiṃ — what; kṛtaṃ — done; mayā — by me

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.