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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.58.8
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 moves between frightening and hopeful possibilities: Sītā may have been taken or killed, but perhaps she is hiding, gathering food or flowers, or fetching water
3.58.8
hṛtā mṛtā vā naṣṭā vā bhakṣitā vā bhaviṣyati
nilīnāpy atha vā bhīrur atha vā vanam āśritā
She has been carried off, or has died, or is lost, or perhaps devoured; or else the timid one has hidden herself, or gone into the forest.
Words: hṛtā — carried off; mṛtā — dead; vā — or; naṣṭā — lost; vā — or; bhakṣitā — devoured; vā — or; bhaviṣyati — she must be; nilīnāpy — or has hidden; atha — or; vā — else; bhīrur — the timid one; atha — or; vā — else; vanam — the forest; āśritā — has resorted to
Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki. 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.