← 2.89.18 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 89: Rāma invites Sītā into the Mandākinī

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.89.19

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.

2.89.19

itīva rāmo bahusaṃgataṃ vacaḥ priyā sahāyaḥ saritaṃ prati bruvan
cacāra ramyaṃ nayanāñjanaprabhaṃ sa citrakūṭaṃ raghuvaṃśavardhanaḥ

Thus speaking such well-fitting words to the river, Rāma, with his beloved as companion — that increaser of the Raghu line — roamed the lovely Citrakūṭa, dark-bright as the collyrium of the eyes.

Words: itīva — thus, in this way; rāmo — Rāma; bahusaṃgataṃ — well-fitting, apt; vacaḥ — words; priyā — with his beloved; sahāyaḥ — as companion; saritaṃ prati — toward the river; bruvan — speaking; cacāra — roamed, wandered; ramyaṃ — lovely; nayanāñjanaprabhaṃ — bright/dark as eye-collyrium; sa — he; citrakūṭaṃ — Citrakūṭa; raghuvaṃśavardhanaḥ — increaser of the Raghu lineage

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.