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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.90.14

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 90: Lakṣmaṇa suspects Bharata’s army. He recognizes the banner, assumes an attack and urges Rāma to extinguish the fire, hide Sītā and prepare to fight

In the sequence: recognizing Bharata's banner, he assumes Bharata has come to kill them after securing the throne

2.90.14

eṣa vai sumahāñ śrīmān viṭapī saṃprakāśate
virājaty udgataskandhaḥ kovidāra dhvajo rathe

There indeed shines forth that great, splendid, spreading tree; the kovidāra banner, its top upraised, gleams upon the chariot.

Words: eṣa vai — this indeed; sumahāñ — very great; śrīmān — splendid, glorious; viṭapī — the spreading, branchy tree; saṃprakāśate — shines forth; virājaty — gleams; udgataskandhaḥ — with upraised top/trunk; kovidāra dhvajo — the kovidāra-tree banner; rathe — on the chariot

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.