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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.60.27

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: he fears she has been torn apart and mistakenly supposes that two rākṣasas fought over her

3.60.27

tasya nimittaṃ vaidehyā dvayor vivadamānayoḥ
babhūva yuddhaṃ saumitre ghoraṃ rākṣasayor iha

“On her account, Saumitri, a fearsome battle took place here between two rākṣasas as they contended over Vaidehī.”

Words: tasya — of that, on account of; nimittaṃ — cause, occasion; vaidehyā — of Vaidehī; dvayor — of the two; vivadamānayoḥ — contending, disputing; babhūva — took place, arose; yuddhaṃ — battle; saumitre — O Saumitri; ghoraṃ — fearsome; rākṣasayor — of the two rākṣasas; iha — here

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.