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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.5.16
Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 5: The ṛṣis appeal for protection. Tapasvins display the victims of rākṣasa attacks, Rāma promises to defend them and gives his exile a purpose
In the sequence: they say the rākṣasas are killing forest hermits as though they had no protector → they ask him to look at the slain munis and describe attacks around Pampā, the Mandākinī, and Citrakūṭa
3.5.16
pampānadīnivāsānām anumandākinīm api
citrakūṭālayānāṃ ca kriyate kadanaṃ mahat
Great slaughter is being wrought upon those who dwell by the Pampā river, along the Mandākinī, and upon those who make their abode on Citrakūṭa.
Words: pampānadīnivāsānām — of those dwelling by the Pampā river; anumandākinīm — along the Mandākinī; api — also; citrakūṭālayānāṃ — of those whose abode is Citrakūṭa; ca — and; kriyate — is being made; kadanaṃ — slaughter; mahat — great
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.