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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.58.26

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: when she does not answer, he fears again that rākṣasas have killed and eaten her

3.58.26

naiva sā nūnam atha vā hiṃsitā cāruhāsinī
kṛcchraṃ prāptaṃ hi māṃ nūnaṃ yathopekṣitum arhati

Surely she is not here—or else the sweet-smiling one has been slain; for otherwise she would never so neglect me who am fallen into such distress.

Words: naiva — surely not; sā — she; nūnam — surely; atha — or; vā — else; hiṃsitā — slain; cāruhāsinī — the sweet-smiling one; kṛcchraṃ — distress; prāptaṃ — fallen into; hi — for; māṃ — me; nūnaṃ — surely; yathopekṣitum — so as to neglect; arhati — she would deserve

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.