← 2.78.11 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 78: Guha prepares to resist Bharata · 2.78.13 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.78.12

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

2.78.12

tasmāt paśyatu kākutstha tvāṃ niṣādādhipo guhaḥ
asaṃśayaṃ vijānīte yatra tau rāmalakṣmaṇau

Therefore, O Kākutstha, let Guha, the lord of the Niṣādas, have audience with you; without doubt he knows where Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa are.

Words: tasmāt — therefore; paśyatu — let (him) see, have audience; kākutstha — O Kākutstha; tvāṃ — you; niṣādādhipo — the lord of the Niṣādas; guhaḥ — Guha; asaṃśayaṃ — without doubt; vijānīte — he knows; yatra — where; tau — those two; rāmalakṣmaṇau — Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa

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.