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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.58.20

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

3.58.20

atha vā mṛgaśāvākṣīṃ mṛga jānāsi maithilīm
mṛgaviprekṣaṇī kāntā mṛgībhiḥ sahitā bhavet

Or else, O deer, do you know the fawn-eyed Maithilī? My love, of fawn-like gaze, might well be among the does.

Words: atha — or; vā — else; mṛgaśāvākṣīṃ — fawn-eyed; mṛga — O deer; jānāsi — you know; maithilīm — the Maithilī; mṛgaviprekṣaṇī — of fawn-like glances; kāntā — the beloved; mṛgībhiḥ — with the does; sahitā — together; bhavet — might be

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.