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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.82.4
Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 82: Bharata examines the grass bed. Traces of Sītā’s gold and silk reveal where she slept, he vows to adopt forest life and offer himself in Rāma’s place
In the sequence: Bharata examines the flattened grass and contrasts it with Rāma's former bedding and palace life
2.82.4
ajinottarasaṃstīrṇe varāstaraṇasaṃcaye
śayitvā puruṣavyāghraḥ kathaṃ śete mahītale
Accustomed to lying upon a heap of the finest coverlets spread over with deerskin, how does this tiger among men lie upon the bare earth?
Words: ajinottarasaṃstīrṇe — spread over with deerskin; varāstaraṇasaṃcaye — on a heap of excellent spreads; śayitvā — having lain; puruṣavyāghraḥ — the tiger among men; kathaṃ — how; śete — lies; mahītale — on the surface of the earth
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.