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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.17.4

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: teasing her, he presents Lakṣmaṇa as an unmarried young man who needs a wife and directs her to him

3.17.4

apūrvī bhāryayā cārthī taruṇaḥ priyadarśanaḥ
anurūpaś ca te bhartā rūpasyāsya bhaviṣyati

He has had no wife before and is in need of one; young and handsome, he will make a husband suited to this beauty of yours.

Words: apūrvī — having no former (wife); bhāryayā — by/with a wife; cārthī — and in need, desirous; taruṇaḥ — young; priyadarśanaḥ — handsome; anurūpaś — suited, fitting; ca — and; te — for you; bhartā — husband; rūpasyāsya — of this beauty; bhaviṣyati — will be, become

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.