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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.58.31

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

3.58.31

sārtheneva parityaktā bhakṣitā bahubāndhavā
hā lakṣmaṇa mahābāho paśyasi tvaṃ priyāṃ kva cit

Like one abandoned by her caravan, she of many kinsmen has been forsaken and devoured. Alas, mighty-armed Lakṣmaṇa, do you see my beloved anywhere?

Words: sārtheneva — as if by a caravan; parityaktā — forsaken; bhakṣitā — devoured; bahubāndhavā — she of many kinsmen; hā — alas; lakṣmaṇa — O Lakṣmaṇa; mahābāho — O mighty-armed; paśyasi — do you see; tvaṃ — you; priyāṃ — the beloved; kva — anywhere; cit — at all

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.