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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.58.18

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

3.58.18

yadi tāla tvayā dṛṣṭā pakvatālaphalastanī
kathayasva varārohāṃ kāruṣyaṃ yadi te mayi

O palm, if you have seen her whose breasts are like ripe palm-fruits, tell me of that fair-hipped one, if you have any compassion for me.

Words: yadi — if; tāla — O palm; tvayā — by you; dṛṣṭā — seen; pakvatālaphalastanī — with breasts like ripe palm-fruit; kathayasva — tell; varārohāṃ — the fair-hipped one; kāruṣyaṃ — compassion; yadi — if; te — to you; mayi — toward me

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.