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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.56.2

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

3.56.2

prasthitaṃ daṇḍakāraṇyaṃ yā mām anujagāma ha
kva sā lakṣmaṇa vaidehī yāṃ hitvā tvam ihāgataḥ

She who followed me as I set out for the Daṇḍaka forest—where is she, Lakṣmaṇa, that Vaidehī, whom you have left to come here?

Words: prasthitaṃ — (me) set out; daṇḍakāraṇyaṃ — for the Daṇḍaka forest; yā — who; mām — me; anujagāma — followed; ha — indeed; kva — where; sā — she; lakṣmaṇa — Lakṣmaṇa; vaidehī — Vaidehī; yāṃ — whom; hitvā — having abandoned; tvam — you; ihāgataḥ — come here

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.