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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.65.20

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: entering through the Vaijayanta gate, he notices further bad signs

2.65.20

na hy atra yānair dṛśyante na gajair na ca vājibhiḥ
niryānto vābhiyānto vā naramukhyā yathāpuram

For here no chief men are seen going out or coming in with vehicles, elephants, or horses, as they used to in the city.

Words: na — not; hy — for; atra — here; yānair — with vehicles; dṛśyante — are seen; na — not; gajair — with elephants; na — not; ca — and; vājibhiḥ — with horses; niryānto — going out; vābhiyānto — or coming in; vā — or; naramukhyā — chief men; yathāpuram — as in the city (before)

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.