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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.96.23

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 embraces Sītā and grieves over the effect of forest life on her

2.96.23

mukhaṃ te prekṣya māṃ śoko dahaty agnir ivāśrayam
bhṛśaṃ manasi vaidehi vyasanāraṇisaṃbhavaḥ

Beholding your face, O Vaidehī, grief—kindled as from the fire-stick of calamity—burns me sorely in my heart, as fire consumes its own vessel.

Words: mukhaṃ — the face; te — your; prekṣya — beholding; māṃ — me; śoko — grief; dahaty — burns; agnir — fire; ivāśrayam — like its vessel; bhṛśaṃ — sorely, intensely; manasi — in the mind, heart; vaidehi — O Vaidehī; vyasanāraṇisaṃbhavaḥ — arising from the fire-stick of calamity

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.