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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.65.17

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

2.65.17

ayodhyāyāṃ purāśabdaḥ śrūyate tumulo mahān
samantān naranārīṇāṃ tam adya na śṛṇomy aham

In Ayodhyā a great tumultuous din of men and women used to be heard on all sides; today I do not hear it.

Words: ayodhyāyāṃ — in Ayodhyā; purāśabdaḥ — formerly a sound; śrūyate — was heard, is heard; tumulo — tumultuous; mahān — great; samantān — on all sides; naranārīṇāṃ — of men and women; tam — it; adya — today; na — not; śṛṇomy — I hear; aham — I

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.