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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.59.18
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: steadied for a time, Rāma joins him in searching the forests, mountain ridges, caves, rivers, and lakes
3.59.18
nikhilena vicinvantau sītāṃ daśarathātmajau
tasya śailasya sānūni guhāś ca śikharāṇi ca
The two sons of Daśaratha, searching thoroughly for Sītā—the ridges of that mountain and its caves and peaks—
Words: nikhilena — thoroughly, completely; vicinvantau — the two searching; sītāṃ — for Sītā; daśarathātmajau — the two sons of Daśaratha; tasya — of that; śailasya — mountain; sānūni — ridges, tablelands; guhāś — caves; ca — and; śikharāṇi — peaks; ca — and
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.