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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.16.17

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 names herself as the shape-changing Śūrpaṇakhā and identifies her brothers Rāvaṇa, Kumbhakarṇa, Vibhīṣaṇa, Khara, and Dūṣaṇa

3.16.17

sābravīd vacanaṃ śrutvā rākṣasī madanārditā
śrūyatāṃ rāma vakṣyāmi tattvārthaṃ vacanaṃ mama

Having heard his speech, the rākṣasī, tormented by love, spoke: “Listen, Rāma, I shall tell you; my words are truthful.

Words: sābravīd — she spoke; vacanaṃ — the speech; śrutvā — having heard; rākṣasī — the rākṣasī; madanārditā — tormented by love; śrūyatāṃ — let it be heard; rāma — O Rāma; vakṣyāmi — I shall speak; tattvārthaṃ — the truthful (words); vacanaṃ — words; mama — my

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.