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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.58.27

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

3.58.27

vyaktaṃ sā bhakṣitā bālā rākṣasaiḥ piśitāśanaiḥ
vibhajyāṅgāni sarvāṇi mayā virahitā priyā

Clearly the young girl has been devoured by the flesh-eating rākṣasas, who tore apart all her limbs—my beloved, now torn from me.

Words: vyaktaṃ — clearly; sā — she; bhakṣitā — devoured; bālā — the young girl; rākṣasaiḥ — by the rākṣasas; piśitāśanaiḥ — flesh-eating; vibhajyāṅgāni — having divided the limbs; sarvāṇi — all; mayā — from me; virahitā — parted; priyā — the beloved

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.