Canto 2 -
Ayodhyā-kāṇḍa
Chapter 28: Rāma Refuses to Accept Her Request
Text 2.28.10
लताकण्टकसङ्कीर्णाः कृकवाकूपनादिताः।
निरपाश्च सुदुर्गाश्च मार्गा दुःखमतो वनम्॥
latā-kaṇṭaka-saṅkīrṇāḥ kṛkavākūpanāditāḥ
nirapāś ca sudurgāś ca mārgā duḥkham ato vanam
latā-kaṇṭaka-saṅkīrṇāḥ = are filled with creepers and thorns; kṛkavāku-upanāditāḥ = resounding with the sounds of the forest cocks; nirapāḥ ca = without water; sudurgāḥ = very difficult to traverse; ca = and; mārgāḥ = the pathways; duḥkham = is misery; ataḥ = therefore; vanam = a forest.
The pathways are filled with creepers and thorns, resounding with the sounds of the forest cocks, very difficult to traverse and without water. Therefore, a forest is misery.
The creepers pull the feet [when one steps inside them by mistake]. The thorns pierce the [soles of the] feet. The sounds of the forest cocks are certainly frightening because their sounds have never been heard [by city dwellers and the like].