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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.66.2

Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 66: Kabandha’s arms severed. Lakṣmaṇa proposes cutting their captor’s arms, the brothers strike together and Kabandha recognizes the foretold means of his release

In the sequence: Holding both brothers, Kabandha impatiently demands why they stand helpless while he is hungry

3.66.2

tiṣṭhataḥ kiṃ nu māṃ dṛṣṭvā kṣudhārtaṃ kṣatriyarṣabhau
āhārārthaṃ tu saṃdiṣṭau daivena gatacetasau

“Why do you two stand, O bulls among kṣatriyas, seeing me tormented by hunger? Assigned by fate to be my food, you have lost your wits.

Words: tiṣṭhataḥ — you two stand; kiṃ — why; nu — indeed; māṃ — me; dṛṣṭvā — having seen; kṣudhārtaṃ — tormented by hunger; kṣatriyarṣabhau — O bulls among kṣatriyas (dual); āhārārthaṃ — for the purpose of food; tu — and; saṃdiṣṭau — assigned, ordained (dual); daivena — by fate; gatacetasau — with wits gone (dual)

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.