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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.17.20

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 intercepts her and tells Lakṣmaṇa that joking with a cruel person has endangered Sītā → he orders him to disfigure Śūrpaṇakhā

3.17.20

imāṃ virūpām asatīm atimattāṃ mahodarīm
rākṣasīṃ puruṣavyāghra virūpayitum arhasi

This ugly, unchaste, over-insolent, big-bellied rākṣasī, O tiger among men, you ought to disfigure.”

Words: imāṃ — this; virūpām — ugly; asatīm — unchaste; atimattāṃ — over-insolent, exceedingly wanton; mahodarīm — big-bellied; rākṣasīṃ — rākṣasī; puruṣavyāghra — O tiger among men; virūpayitum — to disfigure; arhasi — you ought

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.