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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.78.11

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 78: Guha prepares to resist Bharata. Seeing the army, he readies five hundred armed boats to protect Rāma and approaches Bharata to learn his intentions

In the sequence: carrying gifts of food, Guha approaches the prince → Sumantra introduces him as Rāma's friend and someone who can help locate the travelers

2.78.11

eṣa jñātisahasreṇa sthapatiḥ parivāritaḥ
kuśalo daṇḍakāraṇye vṛddho bhrātuś ca te sakhā

This chieftain, surrounded by a thousand kinsmen, well-acquainted with the Daṇḍaka forest, an elder, is the friend of your brother.

Words: eṣa — this; jñātisahasreṇa — by a thousand kinsmen; sthapatiḥ — the chieftain, headman; parivāritaḥ — surrounded; kuśalo — skilled, well-acquainted; daṇḍakāraṇye — with the Daṇḍaka forest; vṛddho — aged, an elder; bhrātuś — of your brother; ca — and; te — your; sakhā — friend

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.