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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.89.12
Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 89: Rāma invites Sītā into the Mandākinī. He urges her to bathe and regard the mountain as Ayodhyā, the river as Sarayū and its animals as citizens
In the sequence: Rāma invites Sītā to bathe with him, saying that being there with her seems better than city life
2.89.12
darśanaṃ citrakūṭasya mandākinyāś ca śobhane
adhikaṃ puravāsāc ca manye ca tava darśanāt
The sight of Citrakūṭa and of the Mandākinī, O lovely one — made the finer by the sight of you — I deem far better than dwelling in the city.
Words: darśanaṃ — the sight, seeing; citrakūṭasya — of Citrakūṭa; mandākinyāś — and of the Mandākinī; ca — and; śobhane — O lovely one; adhikaṃ — greater, better; puravāsāc — than dwelling in the city; ca — and; manye — I deem, think; ca — and; tava darśanāt — from the sight of you
Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki. 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.