← 2.88.17 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 88: Rāma shows Sītā Citrakūṭa · 2.88.19 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.88.18

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 88: Rāma shows Sītā Citrakūṭa. Mineral-coloured peaks, fruit trees and waterfalls relieve his grief, forest life fulfils his father’s command while Bharata rules

In the sequence: he says he could live there happily for years with her and Lakṣmaṇa → forest life also allows him to fulfill his father's command and leave Bharata the Kingdom → he asks whether she too is finding contentment there

2.88.18

vaidehi ramase kaccic citrakūṭe mayā saha
paśyantī vividhān bhāvān manovākkāyasaṃyatān

Vaidehī, do you take delight here on Citrakūṭa with me, beholding the manifold creatures, restrained in mind, speech, and body?

Words: vaidehi — O Vaidehī; ramase — do you delight; kaccic — (surely?), I hope; citrakūṭe — on Citrakūṭa; mayā saha — together with me; paśyantī — beholding; vividhān — manifold, various; bhāvān — creatures, beings; manovākkāyasaṃyatān — restrained in mind, speech and body

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.