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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.38.17

Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 38: Rāvaṇa compels Mārīca. He rejects unwelcome advice, offers half his Kingdom for help and threatens immediate death if Mārīca refuses the deer disguise

In the sequence: he repeats the instructions to become a golden, silver-spotted deer and attract Sītā, expecting both brothers to leave her in pursuit

3.38.17

apakrānte ca kākutsthe lakṣmaṇe ca yathāsukham
ānayiṣyāmi vaidehīṃ sahasrākṣaḥ śacīm iva

And when Kākutstha and Lakṣmaṇa have gone away, I shall carry off Vaidehī at my ease, as the thousand-eyed one carried off Śacī.

Words: apakrānte ca — and when (he has) departed; kākutsthe — Kākutstha (Rāma) [loc. abs.]; lakṣmaṇe ca — and Lakṣmaṇa [loc. abs.]; yathāsukham — at ease; ānayiṣyāmi — I shall bring, carry off; vaidehīṃ — Vaidehī; sahasrākṣaḥ — the thousand-eyed one (Indra); śacīm iva — like Śacī

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.