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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.30.21

Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 30: Śūrpaṇakhā reaches Rāvaṇa’s court. The narrative recalls his conquests, tapas and protection from nonhuman enemies, leaving him vulnerable to a human

In the sequence: against this portrait of his power and violence, the bloodied, disfigured Śūrpaṇakhā presents herself and begins to address him.

3.30.21

rākṣasī bhrātaraṃ krūraṃ sā dadarśa mahābalam
taṃ divyavastrābharaṇaṃ divyamālyopaśobhitam
rākṣasendraṃ mahābhāgaṃ paulastya kulanandanam

The rākṣasī beheld her cruel, mighty brother — clad in divine garments and ornaments, adorned with divine garlands, lord of the rākṣasas, illustrious, the delight of Pulastya's line.

Words: rākṣasī — the rākṣasī; bhrātaraṃ — brother; krūraṃ — cruel; sā — she; dadarśa — beheld; mahābalam — the mighty; taṃ — him; divyavastrābharaṇaṃ — clad in divine garments and ornaments; divyamālyopaśobhitam — adorned with divine garlands; rākṣasendraṃ — lord of the rākṣasas; mahābhāgaṃ — illustrious; paulastya — of Pulastya (Paulastya); kulanandanam — delight of the line

Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki. 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.