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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.96.4

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: at the Mandākinī, Kausalyā points out the place where Lakṣmaṇa fetches water for Rāma

2.96.4

idaṃ teṣām anāthānāṃ kliṣṭam akliṣṭa karmaṇām
vane prāk kevalaṃ tīrthaṃ ye te nirviṣayī kṛtāḥ

This wretched bathing-place is now in the forest the sole resort of those masterless ones of untiring deeds, who have been deprived of their realm.

Words: idaṃ — this; teṣām — of those; anāthānāṃ — masterless, helpless; kliṣṭam — wretched, distressing; akliṣṭa karmaṇām — of untiring deeds; vane — in the forest; prāk — now, henceforth; kevalaṃ — only, sole; tīrthaṃ — bathing-place; ye — who; te — those; nirviṣayī — deprived of realm; kṛtāḥ — made

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.