Chapter 30 — Sundara Kanda, Sarga 30

Valmiki Ramayana — Sundara Kanda

Verse 30.18

अवश्यमेव वक्तव्यं मानुषं वाक्यमर्थवत्। मया सान्त्वयितुं शक्या नान्यथेयमनिन्दिता ॥

avaśyameva vaktavyaṃ mānuṣaṃ vākyamarthavat| mayā sāntvayituṃ śakyā nānyatheyamaninditā ||

English Meaning

Must I therefore use the language of a common man or else I shall not be able to console the dame of a blameless person. (This passage clearly indicates that Sanskrit if not spoken by men, and women of the upper classes of the time when Rāmāyaṇa was written, was at least understood by them, and was commonly spoken by men of priestly class and other educated persons")

M.N. Dutt (1891–94, public domain)