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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.44.7

Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 44: Rāvaṇa’s parivrājaka disguise. He approaches Sītā with Vedic words and praise of her beauty, she receives him as a brāhmaṇa guest

In the sequence: the forest and Godāvarī become unnaturally still at his presence

3.44.7

śīghrasrotāś ca taṃ dṛṣṭvā vīkṣantaṃ raktalocanam
stimitaṃ gantum ārebhe bhayād godāvarī nadī

And seeing him, red-eyed, gazing (at Sītā), the swift-flowing Godāvarī river, out of fear, began to flow still and silent.

Words: śīghrasrotāś — swift-flowing; ca — and; taṃ — him; dṛṣṭvā — having seen; vīkṣantaṃ — gazing; raktalocanam — red-eyed; stimitaṃ — motionless, still; gantum — to flow, go; ārebhe — began; bhayād — out of fear; godāvarī — the Godāvarī; nadī — river

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.