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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.16.13

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: Rāma openly identifies himself, his wife, and his brother, explains the parental command behind his exile, and asks who she is

3.16.13

āsīd daśaratho nāma rājā tridaśavikramaḥ
tasyāham agrajaḥ putro rāmo nāma janaiḥ śrutaḥ

“There was a king named Daśaratha, of valour like the gods. I am his eldest son, known among people by the name Rāma.

Words: āsīd — there was; daśaratho — Daśaratha; nāma — by name; rājā — a king; tridaśavikramaḥ — of valour like the gods; tasyāham — his I (am); agrajaḥ — eldest, first-born; putro — son; rāmo — Rāma; nāma — by name; janaiḥ — by people; śrutaḥ — known, heard of

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.