← 3.55.1 · Araṇya Kāṇḍa 55: Rāma meets Lakṣmaṇa · 3.55.3 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.55.2

Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 55: Rāma meets Lakṣmaṇa. Omens and the false cry make him fear a plot against Sītā, he reproaches Lakṣmaṇa for leaving her alone

In the sequence: The narrative returns to Rāma after Mārīca's death: hurrying home, he hears an ominous jackal cry behind him

3.55.2

tasya saṃtvaramāṇasya draṣṭukāmasya maithilīm
krūrasvaro 'tha gomāyur vinanādāsya pṛṣṭhataḥ

As he hurried on, eager to see Maithilī, a jackal with a cruel voice then howled behind him.

Words: tasya — of him; saṃtvaramāṇasya — hurrying; draṣṭukāmasya — eager to see; maithilīm — Maithilī; krūrasvaro — cruel-voiced; 'tha — then; gomāyur — a jackal; vinanādāsya — howled; of him; pṛṣṭhataḥ — behind

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.