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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.4.18
Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 4: Śarabhaṅga’s ascent through fire. Indra departs before meeting Rāma, the ṛṣi receives him and rises young from the flames to Brahmā’s world
In the sequence: seeing Rāma coming, Indra tells the Devas that Rāma has a great deed still to accomplish and that he will meet him after its successful completion → Indra takes leave of Śarabhaṅga and returns to heaven before Rāma addresses him.
3.4.18
ihopayāty asau rāmo yāvan māṃ nābhibhāṣate
niṣṭhāṃ nayata tāvat tu tato māṃ draṣṭum arhati
“That Rāma is approaching here; before he addresses me, bring my business to completion; only then is he fit to see me.
Words: ihopayāty — approaches here; asau — that; rāmo — Rāma; yāvan — as long as, before; māṃ — me; nābhibhāṣate — does not address; niṣṭhāṃ — to completion; nayata — bring; tāvat — meanwhile, so long; tu — but; tato — then; māṃ — me; draṣṭum — to see; arhati — is fit
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.