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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.71.18

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 71: Daśaratha’s remaining rites. Bharata performs śrāddha and distributes gifts, the brothers grieve over the ashes and bones, Vasiṣṭha & Sumantra help them complete their duties

In the sequence: he says he cannot bear returning to an empty Ayodhyā

2.71.18

hīno bhrātrā ca pitrā ca śūnyām ikṣvākupālitām
ayodhyāṃ na pravekṣyāmi pravekṣyāmi tapovanam

Deprived of both brother and father, I will not enter empty Ayodhyā, guarded once by the Ikṣvākus; I will enter the forest of penance.

Words: hīno — deprived; bhrātrā ca — of both brother; pitrā ca — and father; śūnyām — empty; ikṣvākupālitām — guarded by the Ikṣvākus; ayodhyāṃ — Ayodhyā; na — not; pravekṣyāmi — I shall enter; pravekṣyāmi — I shall enter (instead); tapovanam — the forest of penance

Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki. 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.