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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.96.12

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 96: The mothers reach Rāma’s hut. Kausalyā grieves over Daśaratha’s humble offering, the mothers greet Rāma, Lakṣmaṇa & Sītā and the assembly gathers

In the sequence: Kausalyā weeps that a King who enjoyed such abundance is now being offered forest fare by a son who once possessed so much

2.96.12

rāmeṇeṅgudipiṇyākaṃ pitur dattaṃ samīkṣya me
kathaṃ duḥkhena hṛdayaṃ na sphoṭati sahasradhā

Seeing the iṅgudī-cake offered by Rāma to his father, how does my heart not burst asunder into a thousand pieces from grief?

Words: rāmeṇeṅgudipiṇyākaṃ — the iṅgudī-cake by Rāma; pitur — to the father; dattaṃ — given; samīkṣya — seeing; me — my; kathaṃ — how; duḥkhena — from grief; hṛdayaṃ — heart; na — not; sphoṭati — bursts; sahasradhā — into a thousand pieces

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.