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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.34.17

Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 34: Rāvaṇa’s abduction plan. Mārīca must become a golden deer to lure the brothers away, leaving Sītā unguarded and Rāma vulnerable to grief

In the sequence: Mārīca must become a golden deer with silver spots and appear before Sītā

3.34.17

sauvarṇas tvaṃ mṛgo bhūtvā citro rajatabindubhiḥ
āśrame tasya rāmasya sītāyāḥ pramukhe cara

Becoming a golden deer, dappled with silver spots, roam within the sight of Sītā at the hermitage of that Rāma.

Words: sauvarṇas — golden; tvaṃ — you; mṛgo — a deer; bhūtvā — having become; citro — dappled, variegated; rajatabindubhiḥ — with silver spots; āśrame — at the hermitage; tasya rāmasya — of that Rāma; sītāyāḥ — of Sītā; pramukhe — before, in the sight of; cara — roam, move about

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.