Canto 3 -
Araṇya-kāṇḍa
Chapter 58: Rāma Reaches His Āśrama in Anxiety
Text 3.58.19-20

विगर्हमाणोऽनुजमार्तरूपं क्षुधा श्रमाच्चैव पिपासया च।
विनिःश्वसञ्शुष्क-मुखो विवर्णः प्रतिश्रयं प्राप्य समीक्ष्य शून्यम्॥

स्वमाश्रमं सम्प्रविगाह्य वीरो विहारदेशाननुसृत्य कांश्चित्।
एतत्तदित्येव निवासभूमौ प्रहृष्टरोमा व्यथितो बभूव॥

vigarhamāṇo ’nujam ārta-rūpaṁ
kṣudhā śramāc caiva pipāsayā ca
viniḥśvasañ śuṣka-mukho vivarṇaḥ
pratiśrayaṁ prāpya samīkṣya śūnyam

svam āśramaṁ sampravigāhya vīro
vihāra-deśān anusṛtya kāṁścit
etat tad ity eva nivāsa-bhūmau
prahṛṣṭa-romā vyathito babhūva

vigarhamāṇaḥ = while He scolded; anujam = His younger brother; ārta-rūpam = who was [already] in distress; kṣudhā = because of hunger; śramāt ca eva = exhaustion; pipāsayā = thirst; ca = and; viniḥśvasan = and while He panted; śuṣka-mukhaḥ = His face became dry; vivarṇaḥ = and discolored; pratiśrayam prāpya = He reached His residence; samīkṣya = and saw; śūnyam = that it was vacant; svam = into His; āśramam = āśrama; sampravigāhya = then entered; vīraḥ = the hero; vihāra-deśān = [and then checked] places where she used to sport; anusṛtya = when He saw [that they were also vacant]; kāṁścit = certain; etat tat iti eva = and when He remembered [Their] particular pastimes; eva = was all; nivāsa-bhūmau = in His residence; prahṛṣṭa-romā = His hair stood on end; vyathitaḥ = pained in distress; babhūva = and He became.

His face became dry and discolored while He scolded His younger brother who was [already] in distress and while He panted because of hunger, exhaustion and thirst. He reached His residence and saw that it was vacant. The hero then entered into His āśrama [and then checked] certain places where she used to sport. When He saw [that they were also vacant] and when He remembered [Their] particular pastimes in His residence, His hair stood on end and He became pained in distress.1

These two verses summarize several chapters that are to come.

The Lord was exhausted because He ran for a long distance. When He reached His residence, that is the area [surrounding] His āśrama, He saw that it was vacant—Sītā-devī was not there.

1 Rāmāyaṇa-bhūṣaṇa: anusṛtya vicitya. tān api śūnyān samīkṣya tatratya-nivāsa-bhūmau krīḍā-sthāne tad etad iti tādṛśam etādṛśam iti vihāra-viśeṣaṁ smṛtvā.