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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.58.21
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
3.58.21
gaja sā gajanāsorur yadi dṛṣṭā tvayā bhavet
tāṃ manye viditāṃ tubhyam ākhyāhi varavāraṇa
O elephant, if she whose thighs are like an elephant's trunk has been seen by you—I think she must be known to you—tell me, O best of elephants.
Words: gaja — O elephant; sā — she; gajanāsorur — with thighs like an elephant's trunk; yadi — if; dṛṣṭā — seen; tvayā — by you; bhavet — might be; tāṃ — her; manye — I think; viditāṃ — known; tubhyam — to you; ākhyāhi — tell; varavāraṇa — O best of elephants
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.