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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.56.4

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

3.56.4

yāṃ vinā notsahe vīra muhūrtam api jīvitum
kva sā prāṇasahāyā me sītā surasutopamā

Without whom I cannot bear to live even a moment, O hero—where is she, my life's companion, Sītā, like a daughter of the gods?

Words: yāṃ — whom; vinā — without; notsahe — I cannot bear; vīra — O hero; muhūrtam — a moment; api — even; jīvitum — to live; kva — where; sā — she; prāṇasahāyā — companion (dear as) life; me — my; sītā — Sītā; surasutopamā — like a daughter of the gods

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.