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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.58.22

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

3.58.22

śārdūla yadi sā dṛṣṭā priyā candranibhānanā
maithilī mama visrabdhaḥ kathayasva na te bhayam

O tiger, if my beloved Maithilī, her face like the moon, has been seen by you, tell me with confidence—you have nothing to fear.

Words: śārdūla — O tiger; yadi — if; sā — she; dṛṣṭā — seen; priyā — beloved; candranibhānanā — with a face like the moon; maithilī — the Maithilī; mama — my; visrabdhaḥ — confidently; kathayasva — tell; na — not; te — to you; bhayam — fear

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.