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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.17.12

Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 17: Śūrpaṇakhā attacks Sītā. The brothers’ teasing turns to danger, Rāma orders her disfigurement, Lakṣmaṇa cuts off her ears and nose and she flees

In the sequence: Lakṣmaṇa smiles and says that, as Rāma's dependent, he could only make her a servant's wife → he sends her back to Rāma, suggesting that Rāma will abandon Sītā for her

3.17.12

ko hi rūpam idaṃ śreṣṭhaṃ saṃtyajya varavarṇini
mānuṣeṣu varārohe kuryād bhāvaṃ vicakṣaṇaḥ

For what discerning man, O lovely-complexioned, fair-hipped one, having renounced this surpassing beauty, would set his heart on human women?”

Words: ko hi — for what, who indeed; rūpam — beauty, form; idaṃ — this; śreṣṭhaṃ — surpassing, best; saṃtyajya — having renounced; varavarṇini — O lovely-complexioned one; mānuṣeṣu — on human (women), among mortals; varārohe — O fair-hipped one; kuryād — would set, make; bhāvaṃ — affection, heart; vicakṣaṇaḥ — a discerning man

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.