← 3.17.1 · Araṇya Kāṇḍa 17: Śūrpaṇakhā attacks Sītā · 3.17.3 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.17.2

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: Rāma says he already has a beloved wife and that Śūrpaṇakhā would dislike having a rival

3.17.2

kṛtadāro 'smi bhavati bhāryeyaṃ dayitā mama
tvadvidhānāṃ tu nārīṇāṃ suduḥkhā sasapatnatā

“I am married, lady; this is my beloved wife. For women like you, to have a co-wife would be most painful.

Words: kṛtadāro — married; 'smi — I am; bhavati — O lady, madam; bhāryeyaṃ — this wife; dayitā — beloved; mama — my; tvadvidhānāṃ — of (women) like you; tu — but; nārīṇāṃ — of women; suduḥkhā — very painful; sasapatnatā — the state of having a co-wife

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.