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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.86.22

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 86: Bharadvāja directs Bharata to Citrakūṭa. The Mandākinī and leaf hut identify Rāma’s home, Bharata introduces the Queens and is urged not to blame Kaikeyī

In the sequence: asked to identify them, Bharata introduces Kausalyā and Sumitrā with affection, then bitterly identifies Kaikeyī as the cause of the disaster

2.86.22

asyā vāmabhujaṃ śliṣṭā yaiṣā tiṣṭhati durmanāḥ
karṇikārasya śākheva śīrṇapuṣpā vanāntare

And she who stands here downcast, clinging to her left arm, is like a branch of the karṇikāra with its flowers withered, in the depths of the forest.

Words: asyā — her; vāmabhujaṃ — left arm; śliṣṭā — clinging to; yaiṣā — who, this; tiṣṭhati — stands; durmanāḥ — downcast; karṇikārasya — of the karṇikāra (tree); śākheva — like a branch; śīrṇapuṣpā — with withered flowers; vanāntare — in the depth of the forest

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.