← 3.16.24 · Araṇya Kāṇḍa 16: Śūrpaṇakhā’s proposal

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.16.25

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 threatens to eat Sītā and Lakṣmaṇa so that she and Rāma can roam the forest together → Rāma begins his answer with a smile.

3.16.25

ity evam uktaḥ kākutsthaḥ prahasya madirekṣaṇām
idaṃ vacanam ārebhe vaktuṃ vākyaviśāradaḥ

Thus addressed, Kākutstha (Rāma), skilled in speech, smiling at the wanton-eyed one, began to speak these words.

Words: ity evam — thus; uktaḥ — addressed; kākutsthaḥ — Kākutstha (Rāma); prahasya — smiling, laughing; madirekṣaṇām — the wanton-eyed one; idaṃ — this; vacanam — speech, words; ārebhe — began; vaktuṃ — to speak; vākyaviśāradaḥ — skilled in speech

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.