← 3.60.4 · Araṇya Kāṇḍa 60: Traces of Sītā’s abduction · 3.60.6 →
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.60.5
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 himself questions the river → the narrative says that the Godāvarī knows of the abduction but remains silent from fear of Rāvaṇa, despite other spirits urging it to speak
3.60.5
lakṣmaṇasya vacaḥ śrutvā dīnaḥ saṃtāpa mohitaḥ
rāmaḥ samabhicakrāma svayaṃ godāvarīṃ nadīm
Hearing Lakṣmaṇa's words, Rāma, wretched and bewildered by anguish, himself went up to the Godāvarī river.
Words: lakṣmaṇasya — of Lakṣmaṇa; vacaḥ — the words; śrutvā — having heard; dīnaḥ — wretched; saṃtāpa — by anguish; mohitaḥ — bewildered, deluded; rāmaḥ — Rāma; samabhicakrāma — went up to, approached; svayaṃ — himself; godāvarīṃ — the Godāvarī; nadīm — river
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.