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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.71.9

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: the sight of ashes and bones overwhelms him

2.71.9

sa tu dṛṣṭvā rudan dīnaḥ papāta dharaṇītale
utthāpyamānaḥ śakrasya yantra dhvaja iva cyutaḥ

And seeing it, weeping and wretched, he fell to the ground; though being raised up, he collapsed like Śakra's mechanical banner-pole let fall.

Words: sa tu — and he; dṛṣṭvā — having seen; rudan — weeping; dīnaḥ — wretched; papāta — fell; dharaṇītale — on the ground; utthāpyamānaḥ — while being raised up; śakrasya — of Śakra (Indra); yantra dhvaja iva — like the mechanical banner-pole; cyutaḥ — fallen, let loose

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.