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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.85.7

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 85: Bharadvāja’s divine feast. Invoked devatās provide the army with food, drink and comforts, Bharata honours Rāma’s throne and sits as a minister

In the sequence: Bharata explains that he kept the army away so its men and animals would not damage the hermitage's trees, water, ground, and huts → at Bharadvāja's request, he brings it forward

2.85.7

vāji mukhyā manuṣyāś ca mattāś ca vara vāraṇāḥ
pracchādya mahatīṃ bhūmiṃ bhagavann anuyānti mām

Chief horses and men, and rutting excellent elephants, covering a great expanse of ground, follow me, O venerable one.

Words: vāji mukhyā — chief horses; manuṣyāś ca — and men; mattāś ca — and rutting; vara vāraṇāḥ — excellent elephants; pracchādya — covering; mahatīṃ — great; bhūmiṃ — the ground, land; bhagavann — O venerable one; anuyānti — follow; mām — me

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.