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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.60.7
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
3.60.7
bhūtāni rākṣasendreṇa vadhārheṇa hṛtām api
na tāṃ śaśaṃsū rāmāya tathā godāvarī nadī
Though she had been carried off by the lord of the rākṣasas who deserved to be slain, the spirits did not reveal her to Rāma, nor did the Godāvarī river.
Words: bhūtāni — the beings, spirits; rākṣasendreṇa — by the lord of rākṣasas; vadhārheṇa — deserving to be slain; hṛtām — carried off; api — although, even; na — not; tāṃ — her; śaśaṃsū — they revealed, told; rāmāya — to Rāma; tathā — likewise, so; godāvarī — the Godāvarī; nadī — 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.