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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.58.23
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: in his distress he imagines that he sees her yellow clothing behind a tree and calls on her to stop hiding
3.58.23
kiṃ dhāvasi priye nūnaṃ dṛṣṭāsi kamalekṣaṇe
vṛkṣeṇācchādya cātmānaṃ kiṃ māṃ na pratibhāṣase
Why do you flee, beloved? Surely I have seen you, O lotus-eyed one! Hiding yourself behind a tree, why do you not answer me?
Words: kiṃ — why; dhāvasi — do you run; priye — O beloved; nūnaṃ — surely; dṛṣṭāsi — you are seen; kamalekṣaṇe — O lotus-eyed one; vṛkṣeṇācchādya — concealing yourself with a tree; cātmānaṃ — and yourself; kiṃ — why; māṃ — me; na — not; pratibhāṣase — do you answer
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.