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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.61.3

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 61: Ayodhyā without a King. Ministers warn that food production, worship, trade and protection will fail without a ruler and ask Vasiṣṭha to arrange succession

In the sequence: At sunrise the priests and ministers assemble before Vasiṣṭha

2.61.3

ete dvijāḥ sahāmātyaiḥ pṛthag vācam udīrayan
vasiṣṭham evābhimukhāḥ śreṣṭho rājapurohitam

these brahmins, together with the ministers, each raised his voice, facing directly toward Vasiṣṭha, the foremost royal chaplain.

Words: ete — these; dvijāḥ — brahmins; sahāmātyaiḥ — together with the ministers; pṛthag — severally, each apart; vācam — speech, a word; udīrayan — uttered, raised; vasiṣṭham — toward Vasiṣṭha; evābhimukhāḥ — facing directly; śreṣṭho — the foremost; rājapurohitam — the royal chaplain

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.