← 3.17.25 · Araṇya Kāṇḍa 17: Śūrpaṇakhā attacks Sītā

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.17.26

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: screaming and bleeding, she flees to Janasthāna, falls before Khara, and reports the brothers' arrival and her mutilation.

3.17.26

tataḥ sabhāryaṃ bhayamohamūrchitā salakṣmaṇaṃ rāghavam āgataṃ vanam
virūpaṇaṃ cātmani śoṇitokṣitā śaśaṃsa sarvaṃ bhaginī kharasya sā

Then that sister of Khara, fainting with fear and confusion, drenched in blood, told everything — of Rāghava come to the forest with his wife and Lakṣmaṇa, and of her own disfigurement.

Words: tataḥ — then; sabhāryaṃ — with his wife; bhayamohamūrchitā — fainting with fear and confusion; salakṣmaṇaṃ — with Lakṣmaṇa; rāghavam — Rāghava; āgataṃ — come; vanam — to the forest; virūpaṇaṃ — the disfigurement; cātmani — and upon herself; śoṇitokṣitā — drenched in blood; śaśaṃsa — told, related; sarvaṃ — everything; bhaginī — sister; kharasya — of Khara; sā — she

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.