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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.65.15

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 65: Bharata reaches Ayodhyā. He hastens ahead of his company, finds the city silent and neglected and enters his father’s residence in alarm

In the sequence: the silence alarms him: the usual crowds, traffic, festivities, and lively gardens are absent

2.65.15

eṣā nātipratītā me puṇyodyānā yaśasvinī
ayodhyā dṛśyate dūrāt sārathe pāṇḍumṛttikā

“This glorious Ayodhyā with its holy gardens does not gladden me as before; seen from afar, O charioteer, its soil looks pale.

Words: eṣā — this; nātipratītā — not very pleasing, not cheering; me — to me; puṇyodyānā — with holy gardens; yaśasvinī — glorious, famous; ayodhyā — Ayodhyā; dṛśyate — is seen; dūrāt — from afar; sārathe — O charioteer; pāṇḍumṛttikā — with pale soil

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.