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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.60.36

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: unable to determine whether she was abducted or killed, he feels that his compassion has been mistaken for weakness and that dharma has failed to protect her

3.60.36

bhakṣitāyāṃ hi vaidehyāṃ hṛtāyām api lakṣmaṇa
ke hi loke priyaṃ kartuṃ śaktāḥ saumya mameśvarāḥ

“For if Vaidehī has been devoured or carried off, Lakṣmaṇa, what lords in the world, gentle one, are able to do me a kindness?”

Words: bhakṣitāyāṃ — devoured; hi — for; vaidehyāṃ — Vaidehī; hṛtāyām — carried off; api — even; lakṣmaṇa — O Lakṣmaṇa; ke — which, who; hi — indeed; loke — in the world; priyaṃ — a kindness, favour; kartuṃ — to do; śaktāḥ — able; saumya — O gentle one; mameśvarāḥ — the lords, for me

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.