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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.12.21

Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 12: Agastya’s directions. Rāma asks for a wooded home near water, Agastya recommends food-rich Pañcavaṭī beside the Godāvarī and describes the route

In the sequence: he directs them past a madhūka grove on its northern side, toward a banyan, and onto a tableland near a mountain

3.12.21

etad ālakṣyate vīra madhukānāṃ mahad vanam
uttareṇāsya gantavyaṃ nyagrodham abhigacchatā

There, hero, is seen this great grove of madhūka trees; going past it on the north, you should make for a banyan tree.

Words: etad — this; ālakṣyate — is seen, is discerned; vīra — O hero; madhukānāṃ — of madhūka trees; mahad — great; vanam — grove, forest; uttareṇāsya — to the north of it; gantavyaṃ — to be gone, one should go; nyagrodham — to a banyan tree; abhigacchatā — by one going toward

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.