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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.56.9

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

3.56.9

yadi jīvati vaidehī gamiṣyāmy āśramaṃ punaḥ
suvṛttā yadi vṛttā sā prāṇāṃs tyakṣyāmi lakṣmaṇa

If Vaidehī is alive I will go back to the hermitage; but if that virtuous woman has perished, I too will give up my life, Lakṣmaṇa.

Words: yadi — if; jīvati — lives; vaidehī — Vaidehī; gamiṣyāmy — I will go; āśramaṃ — to the hermitage; punaḥ — again; suvṛttā — virtuous, of good conduct; yadi — if; vṛttā — has perished, is dead; sā — she; prāṇāṃs — (my) life-breaths; tyakṣyāmi — I will give up; lakṣmaṇa — Lakṣmaṇa

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.