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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.81.3

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: Hearing Guha's account, Bharata faints

2.81.3

pratyāśvasya muhūrtaṃ tu kālaṃ paramadurmanāḥ
papāta sahasā totrair hṛdi viddha iva dvipaḥ

Regaining himself for a brief while, then, utterly disheartened, he fell down all at once, like an elephant pierced in the heart by goads.

Words: pratyāśvasya — having recovered breath; muhūrtaṃ — for a moment; tu — but; kālaṃ — a while; paramadurmanāḥ — utterly disheartened; papāta — fell; sahasā — suddenly; totrair — by goads; hṛdi — in the heart; viddha iva — as if pierced; dvipaḥ — an elephant

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.