Araṇya Kāṇḍa 56: Return to the empty hut · 3.56.2 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.56.1

Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 56: Return to the empty hut. Rāma imagines Sītā’s loss and its consequences, hurries back with Lakṣmaṇa and finds their dwelling deserted

In the sequence: Rāma repeatedly asks where Sītā is, recalling how she shared his exile and saying that no Kingdom could compensate for losing her

3.56.1

sa dṛṣṭvā lakṣmaṇaṃ dīnaṃ śūnye daśarathātmajaḥ
paryapṛcchata dharmātmā vaidehīm āgataṃ vinā

Seeing Lakṣmaṇa dejected and alone, that righteous son of Daśaratha questioned him, come without Vaidehī:

Words: sa — he; dṛṣṭvā — having seen; lakṣmaṇaṃ — Lakṣmaṇa; dīnaṃ — dejected; śūnye — in the lonely (place); daśarathātmajaḥ — son of Daśaratha; paryapṛcchata — questioned; dharmātmā — the righteous one; vaidehīm — Vaidehī; āgataṃ — (him) come; vinā — without

Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki. 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.