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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.71.18

Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 71: Rāma enters Pampā’s waters. The sacred rites renew his hope, the lake revives his longing for Sītā and he resolves to seek Sugrīva

In the sequence: he sees clear water, smooth sand, fish and turtles, flowering banks, creepers, lotuses of many colors, and mango groves alive with birds

3.71.18

padmaiḥ saugandhikais tāmrāṃ śuklāṃ kumudamaṇḍalaiḥ
nīlāṃ kuvalayoddhātair bahuvarṇāṃ kuthām iva

coppery with fragrant lotuses, white with clusters of white lily, dark with masses of blue water-lily — many-colored, like a variegated carpet;

Words: padmaiḥ — with lotuses; saugandhikais — fragrant; tāmrāṃ — coppery, red; śuklāṃ — white; kumudamaṇḍalaiḥ — with clusters of white lily; nīlāṃ — dark, blue; kuvalayoddhātair — with masses of blue water-lily; bahuvarṇāṃ — many-colored; kuthām — a woolen carpet; iva — like

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.