← 3.71.25 · Araṇya Kāṇḍa 71: Rāma enters Pampā’s waters

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.71.26

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: the account identifies Ṛṣyamūka on the bank as Sugrīva's home → Rāma again urges Lakṣmaṇa toward Sugrīva as they reach the lakeside, bringing this Kāṇḍa to its close before the meeting itself.

3.71.26

tato mahad vartma ca dūrasaṃkramaṃ krameṇa gatvā pravilokayan vanam
dadarśa pampāṃ śubhadarśa kānanām anekanānāvidhapakṣisaṃkulām

Then, having gradually traversed the great, far-stretching road while gazing at the forest, he beheld Pampā with its fair-looking woods, thronged with many birds of various kinds.

Words: tato — then; mahad — great; vartma — road, way; ca — and; dūrasaṃkramaṃ — far-stretching, hard to traverse; krameṇa — gradually, step by step; gatvā — having gone, traversed; pravilokayan — gazing at, surveying; vanam — forest; dadarśa — beheld, saw; pampāṃ — Pampā; śubhadarśa — of fair aspect; kānanām — woods, groves; anekanānāvidhapakṣisaṃkulām — thronged with many birds of various kinds

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.