← 2.81.22 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 81: Rāma and Sītā’s grass bed

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.81.23

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 81: Rāma and Sītā’s grass bed. Guha shows Bharata where they slept after taking only water, while Lakṣmaṇa and the Niṣādas kept watch

In the sequence: he describes how Lakṣmaṇa and the Niṣādas guarded them through the night.

2.81.23

tatas tv ahaṃ cottamabāṇacāpadhṛk sthito 'bhavaṃ tatra sa yatra lakṣmaṇaḥ
atandribhir jñātibhir āttakārmukair mahendrakalpaṃ paripālayaṃs tadā

And then I too, bearing my finest bow and arrows, kept my station there where Lakṣmaṇa stood, guarding, with my tireless kinsmen bows in hand, that hero who was the equal of great Indra.

Words: tatas tv — and then; ahaṃ — I; cottamabāṇacāpadhṛk — and bearing my best arrows and bow; sthito 'bhavaṃ — kept my station, stood; tatra — there; sa — in that very place; yatra — where; lakṣmaṇaḥ — Lakṣmaṇa (stood); atandribhir — with the tireless; jñātibhir — kinsmen; āttakārmukair — bows in hand; mahendrakalpaṃ — him, the equal of great Indra; paripālayaṃs — guarding; tadā — then

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.