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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.83.18

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 83: Guha ferries Bharata’s company. Five hundred boats carry people, vehicles and provisions across the Gaṅgā, the army halts as Bharata approaches Bharadvāja

In the sequence: the boats return for more loads; elephants swim, while others cross on rafts, with flotation vessels, or by swimming

2.83.18

tāḥ sma gatvā paraṃ tīram avaropya ca taṃ janam
nivṛttāḥ kāṇḍacitrāṇi kriyante dāśabandhubhiḥ

Having reached the far shore and set down their passengers, the boats returned, and playful, zig-zag manoeuvres were performed with them by the ferrymen's kinsmen.

Words: tāḥ — those (boats); sma — (narrative particle); gatvā — having gone; paraṃ — the far; tīram — shore; avaropya — having set down; ca — and; taṃ — that; janam — people; nivṛttāḥ — returned; kāṇḍacitrāṇi — zig-zag, playful manoeuvres; kriyante — were performed; dāśabandhubhiḥ — by the ferrymen's kinsmen

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.