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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.68.20

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 68: Surabhi’s tears and Bharata’s vow. He compares Kausalyā’s sorrow to Surabhi’s grief for her exhausted oxen and offers to replace Rāma in exile

In the sequence: when Indra asked what danger troubled her, she explained that she was grieving for the two oxen, beaten and worn out in the sun

2.68.20

evam uktā tu surabhiḥ surarājena dhīmatā
patyuvāca tato dhīrā vākyaṃ vākyaviśāradā

Addressed thus by the wise king of the gods, the steadfast Surabhi, skilled in speech, then answered him:

Words: evam uktā — thus addressed; tu — and; surabhiḥ — Surabhi; surarājena — by the king of the gods; dhīmatā — the wise one; patyuvāca — replied, answered; tato — then; dhīrā — the steadfast one; vākyaṃ — words; vākyaviśāradā — skilled in speech

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.