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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.65.23

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

2.65.23

sa tv anekāgrahṛdayo dvāḥsthaṃ pratyarcya taṃ janam
sūtam aśvapateḥ klāntam abravīt tatra rāghavaḥ

But he, his heart distracted, having returned the greeting of the gate-people, there said to the weary charioteer of Aśvapati:

Words: sa — he; tv — but; anekāgrahṛdayo — with a distracted heart; dvāḥsthaṃ — the gatekeeper; pratyarcya — having greeted in return; taṃ — that; janam — people, folk; sūtam — the charioteer; aśvapateḥ — of Aśvapati; klāntam — weary; abravīt — said; tatra — there; rāghavaḥ — the Rāghava (Bharata)

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.