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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.56.11

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: he imagines his own death, Kausalyā's further suffering, and Kaikeyī's satisfaction → he says he cannot live if Sītā does not greet him at the hermitage

3.56.11

brūhi lakṣmaṇa vaidehī yadi jīvati vā na vā
tvayi pramatte rakṣobhir bhakṣitā vā tapasvinī

Tell me, Lakṣmaṇa, whether Vaidehī is alive or not, or whether the poor woman was devoured by the rākṣasas while you were off your guard.

Words: brūhi — tell; lakṣmaṇa — Lakṣmaṇa; vaidehī — Vaidehī; yadi — whether; jīvati — lives; vā — or; na — not; vā — or; tvayi — you (being); pramatte — heedless, off guard; rakṣobhir — by the rākṣasas; bhakṣitā — devoured; vā — or; tapasvinī — the poor woman

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.