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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.16.11
Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 16: Śūrpaṇakhā’s proposal. Rāvaṇa’s sister asks Rāma to marry her and threatens to eat Sītā & Lakṣmaṇa so they can roam the forest together
In the sequence: she asks why a man dressed as a tapasvin is carrying weapons and living with a wife in rākṣasa territory
3.16.11
jaṭī tāpasarūpeṇa sabhāryaḥ śaracāpadhṛk
āgatas tvam imaṃ deśaṃ kathaṃ rākṣasasevitam
“Wearing matted locks, in the guise of an ascetic, with a wife, and bearing arrows and a bow — how have you come to this region frequented by rākṣasas?
Words: jaṭī — wearing matted locks; tāpasarūpeṇa — in the guise of an ascetic; sabhāryaḥ — with a wife; śaracāpadhṛk — bearing arrows and a bow; āgatas — come; tvam — you; imaṃ — this; deśaṃ — region; kathaṃ — how; rākṣasasevitam — frequented by rākṣasas
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.