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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.58.12
Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 58: Rāma searches for Sītā. He finds the hut disordered, questions trees and animals and imagines her yellow clothing among the woods
In the sequence: he asks the trees she loved and the deer, elephant, and tiger whether they have seen her
3.58.12
asti kaccit tvayā dṛṣṭā sā kadambapriyā priyā
kadamba yadi jānīṣe śaṃsa sītāṃ śubhānanām
Has my beloved, who loved the kadamba, perhaps been seen by you? O kadamba, if you know, tell me of Sītā of the lovely face.
Words: asti — is it; kaccit — perhaps; tvayā — by you; dṛṣṭā — seen; sā — she; kadambapriyā — fond of the kadamba; priyā — the beloved; kadamba — O kadamba; yadi — if; jānīṣe — you know; śaṃsa — tell; sītāṃ — Sītā; śubhānanām — fair-faced
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.