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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.60.12
Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 60: Traces of Sītā’s abduction. Flowers, footprints, blood and chariot wreckage suggest a struggle, Rāma’s uncertainty turns to threats against the whole world
In the sequence: Rāma wonders how he can face Sītā's parents and resolves to search the river, Janasthāna, and Prasravaṇa
3.60.12
yā me rājyavihīnasya vane vanyena jīvataḥ
sarvaṃ vyapanayac chokaṃ vaidehī kva nu sā gatā
She who took away all my grief while I, bereft of kingdom, lived in the forest on forest fare — where indeed has that Vaidehī gone?
Words: yā — who; me — of me, my; rājyavihīnasya — bereft of kingdom; vane — in the forest; vanyena — on forest fare; jīvataḥ — living; sarvaṃ — all; vyapanayac — took away, removed; chokaṃ — grief; vaidehī — Vaidehī; kva — where; nu — indeed; sā — she; gatā — has gone
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.