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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.59.15

Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 59: Lakṣmaṇa renews the search. He urges Rāma to inspect caves, rivers and groves before assuming Sītā’s death, their fruitless search returns Rāma to grief

In the sequence: Lakṣmaṇa urges him to keep searching instead of assuming the worst: she may be in a cave, by a river or lotus pond, or exploring the woods

3.59.15

saritaṃ vāpi saṃprāptā mīnavañjurasevitām
vitrāsayitukāmā vā līnā syāt kānane kva cit
jijñāsamānā vaidehī tvāṃ māṃ ca puruṣarṣabha

Or she may have reached a river frequented by fish and vañju-birds, or, wishing to startle us, she may be hiding somewhere in the wood—Vaidehī putting you and me to the test, O bull among men.

Words: saritaṃ — a river; vāpi — or even; saṃprāptā — reached; mīnavañjurasevitām — frequented by fish and vañju-birds; vitrāsayitukāmā — wishing to startle; vā — or; līnā — hidden; syāt — may be; kānane — in the wood; kva cit — somewhere; jijñāsamānā — putting to the test, curious; vaidehī — Vaidehī; tvāṃ — you; māṃ — me; ca — and; puruṣarṣabha — O bull among men

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.