← 2.89.17 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 89: Rāma invites Sītā into the Mandākinī · 2.89.19 →
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.89.18
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: he asks her to think of the animals as their fellow citizens, the mountain as Ayodhyā, and the river as the Sarayū → with Sītā and Lakṣmaṇa beside him, he says he does not long for the Kingdom.
2.89.18
imāṃ hi ramyāṃ gajayūthalolitāṃ nipītatoyāṃ gajasiṃhavānaraiḥ
supuṣpitaiḥ puṣpadharair alaṃkṛtāṃ na so 'sti yaḥ syān na gatakramaḥ sukhī
Beholding this lovely river, stirred by herds of elephants, its water drunk by elephants, lions, and monkeys, adorned by well-blossomed flowering trees — there is none who, on coming to it, would not be made happy.
Words: imāṃ hi — this indeed; ramyāṃ — lovely; gajayūthalolitāṃ — stirred by herds of elephants; nipītatoyāṃ — its water drunk; gajasiṃhavānaraiḥ — by elephants, lions, and monkeys; supuṣpitaiḥ — by well-blossomed (trees); puṣpadharair — by flower-bearing trees; alaṃkṛtāṃ — adorned; na — there is no; so — one; 'sti — is; yaḥ — who; syān — would be; na — not; gatakramaḥ — having come, drawn near; sukhī — happy
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.